ReportWire

Tag: region

  • Iran’s president seeks ‘fair and equitable negotiations’ with the United States

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    Iran’s president said Tuesday that he instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the United States, the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate as tensions remain high with Washington after the Mideast country’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.The announcement marked a major turn for reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who broadly had warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control. It also signals that the president received support from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for talks that the 86-year-old cleric previously had dismissed.Video above: Iran warns of “regional war” if U.S. attacksTurkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling in the region.But whether Iran and the U.S. can reach an agreement remains to be seen, particularly as President Donald Trump now has included Iran’s nuclear program in a list of demands from Tehran in any talks. Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.Iran’s president signals talks are possibleWriting on X, Pezeshkian said in English and Farsi that the decision came after “requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations.”“I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists — one free from threats and unreasonable expectations — to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency,” he said.The U.S. has yet to acknowledge the talks will take place. A semiofficial news agency in Iran on Monday reported — then later deleted without explanation — that Pezeshkian had issued such an order to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who held multiple rounds of talks with Witkoff before the 12-day war.Khamenei adviser speaks on the nuclear issueLate Monday, the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen, which is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, aired an interview with Ali Shamkhani, a top Khamenei adviser on security.Shamkhani, who now sits on the country’s Supreme National Security Council and who in the 1980s led Iran’s navy, wore a naval uniform as he spoke.He suggested if the talks happened, they would be indirect at the beginning, then moving to direct talks if a deal appeared to be attainable. Direct talks with the U.S. long have been a highly charged political issue within Iran’s theocracy, with reformists like Pezeshkian pushing for them and hard-liners dismissing them.The talks would solely focus on nuclear issues, he added.Asked about whether Russia could take Iran’s enriched uranium like it did in Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Shamkhani dismissed the idea, saying there was “no reason” to do so. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Russia had “long offered these services as a possible option that would alleviate certain irritants for a number of countries.”“Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, will not seek a nuclear weapon and will never stockpile nuclear weapons, but the other side must pay a price in return for this,” he said.Video below: “HELP IS ON ITS WAY:” Trump weighs response to deadly protests in IranIran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency had said Iran was the only country in the world to enrich to that level that wasn’t armed with the bomb.Iran has been refusing requests by the IAEA to inspect the sites bombed in the June war.“The quantity of enriched uranium remains unknown, because part of the stockpile is under rubble, and there is no initiative yet to extract it, as it is extremely dangerous,” Shamkhani said.Witkoff traveling to IsraelWitkoff is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli security officials on Tuesday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. He will travel to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, later in the week for Russia-Ukraine talks, the official said.“We have talks going on with Iran, we’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. Asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran, he declined to elaborate.“I’d like to see a deal negotiated,” Trump said. “Right now, we’re talking to them, we’re talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, that’d be great. And if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.” Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

    DUBAI, Dubai —

    Iran’s president said Tuesday that he instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the United States, the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate as tensions remain high with Washington after the Mideast country’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.

    The announcement marked a major turn for reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who broadly had warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control. It also signals that the president received support from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for talks that the 86-year-old cleric previously had dismissed.

    Video above: Iran warns of “regional war” if U.S. attacks

    Turkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling in the region.

    But whether Iran and the U.S. can reach an agreement remains to be seen, particularly as President Donald Trump now has included Iran’s nuclear program in a list of demands from Tehran in any talks. Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.

    Iran’s president signals talks are possible

    Writing on X, Pezeshkian said in English and Farsi that the decision came after “requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations.”

    “I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists — one free from threats and unreasonable expectations — to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency,” he said.

    The U.S. has yet to acknowledge the talks will take place. A semiofficial news agency in Iran on Monday reported — then later deleted without explanation — that Pezeshkian had issued such an order to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who held multiple rounds of talks with Witkoff before the 12-day war.

    Khamenei adviser speaks on the nuclear issue

    Late Monday, the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen, which is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, aired an interview with Ali Shamkhani, a top Khamenei adviser on security.

    Shamkhani, who now sits on the country’s Supreme National Security Council and who in the 1980s led Iran’s navy, wore a naval uniform as he spoke.

    He suggested if the talks happened, they would be indirect at the beginning, then moving to direct talks if a deal appeared to be attainable. Direct talks with the U.S. long have been a highly charged political issue within Iran’s theocracy, with reformists like Pezeshkian pushing for them and hard-liners dismissing them.

    The talks would solely focus on nuclear issues, he added.

    Asked about whether Russia could take Iran’s enriched uranium like it did in Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Shamkhani dismissed the idea, saying there was “no reason” to do so. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Russia had “long offered these services as a possible option that would alleviate certain irritants for a number of countries.”

    “Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, will not seek a nuclear weapon and will never stockpile nuclear weapons, but the other side must pay a price in return for this,” he said.

    Video below: “HELP IS ON ITS WAY:” Trump weighs response to deadly protests in Iran

    Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency had said Iran was the only country in the world to enrich to that level that wasn’t armed with the bomb.

    Iran has been refusing requests by the IAEA to inspect the sites bombed in the June war.

    “The quantity of enriched uranium remains unknown, because part of the stockpile is under rubble, and there is no initiative yet to extract it, as it is extremely dangerous,” Shamkhani said.

    Witkoff traveling to Israel

    Witkoff is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli security officials on Tuesday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. He will travel to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, later in the week for Russia-Ukraine talks, the official said.

    “We have talks going on with Iran, we’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. Asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran, he declined to elaborate.

    “I’d like to see a deal negotiated,” Trump said. “Right now, we’re talking to them, we’re talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, that’d be great. And if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.”

    Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

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  • ‘Water bankruptcy’ — U.N. scientists say much of the world is irreversibly depleting water

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    Dozens of the world’s major rivers are so heavily tapped, they often run dry before reaching the sea. More than half of all large lakes are shrinking, and most of the world’s major underground sources are declining irreversibly as agricultural pumping drains water that took centuries or even thousands of years to accumulate.

    In a report this week, U.N. scientists warn that the world has entered a new era of “global water bankruptcy” — a term that starkly underlines the urgency of efforts needed to protect what remains.

    “For too long, we have been living beyond our hydrological means,” said lead author Kaveh Madani, director of the U.N. University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health.

    Drawing on extensive research, the report says more and more regions of the world are effectively overspending from all their water accounts, and their reserves are dropping. The term “water crisis” is often used locally and globally, but the scientists said that denotes a temporary emergency from which a region can recover, whereas many parts of the world are depleting water beyond safe limits and are now bankrupt or approaching bankruptcy.

    Many rivers, lakes, aquifers and wetlands have been pushed past “tipping points” and cannot bounce back, the report says.

    “Millions of farmers are trying to grow more food from shrinking, polluted or disappearing water sources,” Madani said.

    An estimated 70% of water globally is used for agriculture. Where water resources are exhausted, it can mean collapsing economies, displacement and conflict. The report says about 3 billion people, and more than half of global food production, are concentrated in areas where water resources are in decline.

    The scientists said more than half of the world’s large lakes have shrunk since the 1990s. About 35% of the planet’s natural wetlands, nearly the size of the European Union in total, have been wiped out since the 1970s.

    Excessive pumping of groundwater has led to long-term declines in about 70% of the world’s major aquifers, and in many areas these declines are causing the land to sink. Land subsidence linked to groundwater overpumping, the report says, is occurring across more than 2.3 million square miles, nearly 5% of the global land area. This permanently reduces what the aquifers can hold and also worsens the risk of flooding.

    About 4 billion people endure severe water scarcity at least one month each year.

    Water bankruptcy is not only a problem in the world’s dry regions, Madani said. “Like financial bankruptcy, it’s not about how rich or poor you are. What matters is how you manage your budget.”

    And in many regions, the water people are using perpetually outstrips the supply year after year, effectively breaking the budget.

    The report points to the Colorado River and its depleted reservoirs, on which California and other western states depend, as symbols of over-promised water. Other hotspots of chronic overuse include parts of South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

    “We must prioritize prevention of further damage to our remaining savings,” Madani said. “By acknowledging the reality of water bankruptcy, we can finally make the hard choices that will protect people, economies and ecosystems. The longer we delay, the deeper the deficit grows.”

    Water bankruptcy also is caused by deforestation, loss of wetlands and pollution, the researchers said. These problems are compounded by climate change, which is upending the water cycle and bringing more severe droughts and floods.

    The report was released ahead of a U.N. water conference in the United Arab Emirates in December.

    Madani also authored a peer-reviewed article this week that presents a definition of water bankruptcy, saying the term is a diagnosis to “communicate the severity of the problem and the urgency of a transformative fresh start.”

    The banking analogy used throughout the report, he said, points to solutions that are similar to managing a financial bankruptcy — preserving remaining capital while cutting spending.

    Solutions for dealing with exhausted water resources will vary by region, Madani said, and will need to account for the reality that “simply taking water away from farmers can mean unemployment, immediate tension, chaotic situations,” and that farmers and others need assistance to use less water and adapt.

    In a related study published last year, scientists analyzed more than two decades of satellite data and found that vast areas of the world are losing fresh water and getting drier.

    In a recent World Bank report, researchers said global water use “increased by 25 percent from 2000 to 2019, with about a third of this increase occurring in regions already drying out.”

    Jay Famiglietti, a hydrologist and professor at Arizona State University, said embracing the term water bankruptcy “is a brilliant way to convey that the water resources have been mismanaged, excessively utilized, and are no longer available for current and future generations.”

    He said water experts struggle to find the right “hook” to convey the severity and urgency of the problem, and calling it water bankruptcy promises to catch on.

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    Ian James

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  • Trump says the US ‘needs’ Greenland for Arctic security. Here’s why

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    Location, location, location: Greenland’s key position above the Arctic Circle makes the world’s largest island a key part of security strategy in the High North. But for whom?Increasing international tensions, global warming and the changing world economy have put Greenland at the heart of the debate over global trade and security, and U.S. President Donald Trump wants to make sure his country controls this mineral-rich country that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America.Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally that has rejected Trump’s overtures. Greenland’s own government also opposes U.S. designs on the island, saying the people of Greenland will decide their own future. The island, 80% of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people who until now have been largely ignored by the rest of the world.Here’s why Greenland is strategically important to Arctic security: Greenland sits off the northeastern coast of Canada, with more than two-thirds of its territory lying within the Arctic Circle. That has made it crucial to the defense of North America since World War II, when the U.S. occupied Greenland to ensure it didn’t fall into the hands of Nazi Germany and to protect crucial North Atlantic shipping lanes.Following the Cold War, the Arctic was largely an area of international cooperation. But climate change is thinning the Arctic ice, promising to create a northwest passage for international trade and reigniting competition with Russia, China and other countries over access to the region’s mineral resources.Video below: Stephen Miller says ‘obviously Greenland should be part of the United States’ Greenland is also a rich source of the so-called rare earth minerals that are a key component of mobile phones, computers, batteries and other gadgets that are expected to power the world’s economy in the coming decades.That has attracted the interest of the U.S. and other Western powers as they try to ease China’s dominance of the market for these critical minerals.Development of Greenland’s mineral resources is challenging because of the island’s harsh climate, while strict environmental controls have proved an additional bulwark against potential investors. The U.S. Department of Defense operates the remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, which was built after the U.S. and Denmark signed the Defense of Greenland Treaty in 1951. It supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.Greenland also guards part of what is known as the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) Gap, where NATO monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic. Denmark is moving to strengthen its military presence around Greenland and in the wider North Atlantic. Last year, the government announced a roughly 14.6 billion kroner ($2.3 billion) agreement with parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, another self-governing territory of Denmark, to “improve capabilities for surveillance and maintaining sovereignty in the region.” The plan includes three new Arctic naval vessels, two additional long-range surveillance drones and satellite capacity.Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command is headquartered in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, and tasked with the “surveillance, assertion of sovereignty and military defense of Greenland and the Faroe Islands,” according to its website. It has smaller satellite stations across the island.The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish naval unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance and enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness, is also stationed in Greenland. In 2018, China declared itself a “near-Arctic state” in an effort to gain more influence in the region. China has also announced plans to build a “Polar Silk Road” as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, which has created economic links with countries around the world.Then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected China’s move, saying: “Do we want the Arctic Ocean to transform into a new South China Sea, fraught with militarization and competing territorial claims?”Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is worried about NATO’s activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region. European leaders’ concerns were heightened following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

    Location, location, location: Greenland’s key position above the Arctic Circle makes the world’s largest island a key part of security strategy in the High North. But for whom?

    Increasing international tensions, global warming and the changing world economy have put Greenland at the heart of the debate over global trade and security, and U.S. President Donald Trump wants to make sure his country controls this mineral-rich country that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America.

    Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally that has rejected Trump’s overtures. Greenland’s own government also opposes U.S. designs on the island, saying the people of Greenland will decide their own future.

    The island, 80% of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people who until now have been largely ignored by the rest of the world.

    Here’s why Greenland is strategically important to Arctic security:

    Greenland sits off the northeastern coast of Canada, with more than two-thirds of its territory lying within the Arctic Circle. That has made it crucial to the defense of North America since World War II, when the U.S. occupied Greenland to ensure it didn’t fall into the hands of Nazi Germany and to protect crucial North Atlantic shipping lanes.

    Following the Cold War, the Arctic was largely an area of international cooperation. But climate change is thinning the Arctic ice, promising to create a northwest passage for international trade and reigniting competition with Russia, China and other countries over access to the region’s mineral resources.

    Video below: Stephen Miller says ‘obviously Greenland should be part of the United States’


    Greenland is also a rich source of the so-called rare earth minerals that are a key component of mobile phones, computers, batteries and other gadgets that are expected to power the world’s economy in the coming decades.

    That has attracted the interest of the U.S. and other Western powers as they try to ease China’s dominance of the market for these critical minerals.

    Development of Greenland’s mineral resources is challenging because of the island’s harsh climate, while strict environmental controls have proved an additional bulwark against potential investors.

    The U.S. Department of Defense operates the remote Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, which was built after the U.S. and Denmark signed the Defense of Greenland Treaty in 1951. It supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.

    Greenland also guards part of what is known as the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) Gap, where NATO monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic.

    Denmark is moving to strengthen its military presence around Greenland and in the wider North Atlantic. Last year, the government announced a roughly 14.6 billion kroner ($2.3 billion) agreement with parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, another self-governing territory of Denmark, to “improve capabilities for surveillance and maintaining sovereignty in the region.”

    The plan includes three new Arctic naval vessels, two additional long-range surveillance drones and satellite capacity.

    Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command is headquartered in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, and tasked with the “surveillance, assertion of sovereignty and military defense of Greenland and the Faroe Islands,” according to its website. It has smaller satellite stations across the island.

    The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish naval unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance and enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness, is also stationed in Greenland.

    In 2018, China declared itself a “near-Arctic state” in an effort to gain more influence in the region. China has also announced plans to build a “Polar Silk Road” as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, which has created economic links with countries around the world.

    Then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected China’s move, saying: “Do we want the Arctic Ocean to transform into a new South China Sea, fraught with militarization and competing territorial claims?”

    Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is worried about NATO’s activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region. European leaders’ concerns were heightened following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

    Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

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  • Mexico’s president slams Trump’s attack on Venezuela, says it destabilizes the hemisphere

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    MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday again condemned the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, criticizing the Trump administration’s aggressive foreign policy in Latin America for threatening the stability of the hemisphere.

    “We categorically reject intervention in the internal affairs of other countries,” Sheinbaum said in her daily news conference. “The history of Latin America is clear and compelling: Intervention has never brought democracy, has never generated well-being or lasting stability.”

    “Unilateral action and invasion cannot be the basis of international relations in the 21st century,” she said. “They don’t lead to peace or development.”

    Her comments came as Trump on Sunday threatened more military strikes on Venezuela — and raised the possibility of intervention in Mexico as well as in Cuba, Colombia and the Danish territory of Greenland. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said drugs were “pouring” through Mexico and that “we’re going to have to do something.”

    He has been threatening action against cartels for months, with some members of his administration suggesting that the U.S. may soon carry out drone strikes on drug laboratories and other targets inside Mexican territory. Sheinbaum has repeatedly said such strikes would be a clear violation of Mexican sovereignty.

    “Sovereignty and the self-determination of peoples are non-negotiable,” she said. “They are fundamental principles of international law and must always be respected without exception.”

    Sheinbaum is part of a bloc of leftist Latin American leaders who have spoken out forcefully against the U.S. after its surprise attack on Caracas on Saturday morning. U.S. special forces abducted Maduro, Venezuela’s leftist president, and his wife, Cilia Flores, the former head of the National Assembly.

    Venezuela says at least 40 people were killed in the attack. The couple have been indicted in New York’s Southern District on drug trafficking charges.

    Right-wing leaders in the region, on the other hand, have cheered the removal of Maduro from power.

    At her news conference on Monday, Sheinbaum called for cooperation among countries in the region, at one point quoting Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

    “Washington called for good faith and justice toward all nations, and for the cultivation of peace and harmony among all,” she said.

    Nations cannot impose their wills on other countries, she said, and do not have the right to their resources. That was a clear reference to Trump’s stated desire to exploit Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

    “Only the people can build their own future, decide their path, exercise sovereignty over their natural resources, and freely define their form of government,” she said. “Each nation has the inalienable right to decide its political, economic, and social model, free from external pressure.”

    Sheinbaum warned that infighting among Latin American nations would hurt the region economically.

    “Global economic competition, particularly in the face of Asia’s growth, is not achieved through the use of force … but rather through cooperation for development, productive investment, innovation, education and social welfare,” she said.

    She said Mexico was committed to fighting organized crime, and reminded the U.S. that it fuels that dynamic.

    “The violence plaguing our country is partly caused by the illegal flow of high-powered weapons from the United States into Mexico, as well as the serious problem of drug consumption in our neighboring country,” she said.

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    Kate Linthicum

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  • To ‘run’ Venezuela, Trump presses existing regime to kneel

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    WASHINGTON — Top officials in the Trump administration clarified their position on “running” Venezuela after seizing its president, Nicolás Maduro, over the weekend, pressuring the regime that remains in power there Sunday to acquiesce to U.S. demands on oil access and drug enforcement, or else face further military action.

    Their goal appears to be the establishment of a pliant vassal state in Caracas that keeps the current government — led by Maduro for more than a decade — largely in place, but finally defers to the whims of Washington after turning away from the United States for a quarter century.

    It leaves little room for the ascendance of Venezuela’s democratic opposition, which won the country’s last national election, according to the State Department, European capitals and international monitoring bodies.

    Trump and his top aides said they would try to work with Maduro’s handpicked vice president and current interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, to run the country and its oil sector “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” offering no time frame for proposed elections.

    Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem underscored the strategy in a series of interviews Sunday morning.

    “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told the Atlantic, referring to Rodríguez. “Rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Can’t get any worse.”

    Rubio said that a U.S. naval quarantine of Venezuelan oil tankers would continue unless and until Rodríguez begins cooperating with the U.S. administration, referring to the blockade — and the lingering threat of additional military action from the fleet off Venezuela’s coast — as “leverage” over the remnants of Maduro’s regime.

    “That’s the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that,” Rubio told CBS News. “We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes — not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking.”

    Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told CNN that he had been in touch with the administration since the Saturday night operation that snatched Maduro and his wife from their bedroom, whisking them away to New York to face criminal charges.

    Trump’s vow to “run” the country, Cotton said, “means the new leaders of Venezuela need to meet our demands.”

    “Delcy Rodríguez, and the other ministers in Venezuela, understand now what the U.S. military is capable of,” Cotton said, while adding: “It is a fact that she and other indicted and sanctioned individuals are in Venezuela. They have control of the military and security forces. We have to deal with that fact. But that does not make them the legitimate leaders.”

    “What we want is a future Venezuelan government that will be pro-American, that will contribute to stability, order and prosperity, not only in Venezuela but in our own backyard. That probably needs to include new elections,” Cotton added.

    Whether Rodríguez will cooperate with the administration is an open question.

    Trump said Saturday that she seemed amenable to making “Venezuela great again” in a conversation with Rubio. But the interim president delivered a speech hours later demanding Maduro’s return, and vowing that Venezuela would “never again be a colony of any empire.”

    The developments have concerned senior figures in Venezuela’s democratic opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition candidate who won the 2024 presidential election that was ultimately stolen by Maduro.

    In his Saturday news conference, Trump dismissed Machado, saying that the revered opposition leader was “a very nice woman,” but “doesn’t have the respect within the country” to lead.

    Elliott Abrams, Trump’s special envoy to Venezuela in his first term, said he was skeptical that Rodríguez — an acolyte of Hugo Chávez and avowed supporter of Chavismo throughout the Maduro era — would betray the cause.

    “The insult to Machado was bizarre, unfair — and simply ignorant,” Abrams told The Times. “Who told him that there was no respect for her?”

    Maduro was booked in New York and flown by night over the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he is in federal custody at a notorious facility that has housed other famous inmates, including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell, Bernie Madoff and Sam Bankman-Fried.

    He is expected to be arraigned on federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices as soon as Monday.

    While few in Washington lamented Maduro’s ouster, Democratic lawmakers criticized the operation as another act of regime change by a Republican president that could have violated international law.

    “The invasion of Venezuela has nothing to do with American security. Venezuela is not a security threat to the U.S.,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut. “This is about making Trump’s oil industry and Wall Street friends rich. Trump’s foreign policy — the Middle East, Russia, Venezuela — is fundamentally corrupt.”

    In their Saturday news conference, and in subsequent interviews, Trump and Rubio said that targeting Venezuela was in part about reestablishing U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, reasserting the philosophy of President James Monroe as China and Russia work to enhance their presence in the region. The Trump administration’s national security strategy, published last month, previewed a renewed focus on Latin America after the region faced neglect from Washington over decades.

    Trump left unclear whether his military actions in the region would end in Caracas, a longstanding U.S. adversary, or if he is willing to turn the U.S. armed forces on America’s allies.

    In his interview with the Atlantic, Trump suggested that “individual countries” would be addressed on a case-by-case basis. On Saturday, he reiterated a threat to the president of Colombia, a major non-NATO ally, to “watch his ass,” over an ongoing dispute about Bogota’s cooperation on drug enforcement.

    On Sunday morning, the United Nations Security Council was called for an urgent meeting to discuss the legality of the U.S. operation inside Venezuela.

    It was not Russia or China — permanent members of the council and longstanding competitors — who called the session, nor France, whose government has questioned whether the operation violated international law, but Colombia, a non-permanent member who joined the council less than a week ago.

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    Michael Wilner

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  • Maduro arrives in US after capture in operation that Trump says will let US ‘run’ Venezuela

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    Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in an audacious nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.Video above: U.S. strikes Venezuela, captures President Maduro in overnight operationMaduro landed Saturday evening at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas — an act that Maduro’s government called “imperialist.” The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuela’s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the United States free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader as her nation’s high court named her interim president.Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, who didn’t give a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured, but none were killed.Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries. Video below: ‘We are going to run the country,’ Trump says of VenezuelaTrump says US will ‘run the country’The Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.Trump claimed the U.S. government would help lead the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate visible signs of that. Venezuelan state TV aired pro-Maduro propaganda and broadcast live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. He boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. campaign began in September.Video below: Fact checking President Trump’s Venezuela claimsEarly morning attackTaking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights” in Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.“We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” Caine said. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”Multiple explosions rang out that morning, and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the United States of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets. The explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.Restrictions imposed by the U.S. government on airspace around Venezuela and the Caribbean expired early Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X, an announcement that suggested any further immediate major U.S. military action was unlikely. “Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly,” he posted.Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodríguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she become interim president.“There is only one president in Venezuela,” Rodriguez said, “and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.”Video below: President Donald Trump’s full comments on Venezuela strike and Nicolas Maduro captureSome streets in Caracas fill upVenezuela’s ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.In a demonstration of how polarizing Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to protest his capture, while others celebrated it. At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro’s return.“Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. “We are here, Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!”In other parts of the city, the streets were empty hours after the attack.“How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared. Many families couldn’t sleep.”In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”Questions of legalityWhether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, was still a question early Sunday. “There are a number of international legal concepts which the United States might have broken by capturing Maduro,” said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.In New York, the U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning. That was according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting not yet made public.Lawmakers from both American political parties have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress has not approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”___Toropin and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela; Lisa Mascaro, Michelle L. Price, Seung Min Kim and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington; Farnoush Amiri in New York; and Larry Neumeister in South Amboy, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

    Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in an audacious nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

    Video above: U.S. strikes Venezuela, captures President Maduro in overnight operation

    Maduro landed Saturday evening at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas — an act that Maduro’s government called “imperialist.” The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

    The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuela’s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval.

    Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the United States free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader as her nation’s high court named her interim president.

    Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, who didn’t give a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured, but none were killed.

    Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.

    Video below: ‘We are going to run the country,’ Trump says of Venezuela

    Trump says US will ‘run the country’

    The Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

    Trump claimed the U.S. government would help lead the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate visible signs of that. Venezuelan state TV aired pro-Maduro propaganda and broadcast live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

    “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. He boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”

    Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.

    The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. campaign began in September.

    Video below: Fact checking President Trump’s Venezuela claims

    Early morning attack

    Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights” in Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

    Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

    “We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” Caine said. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”

    Multiple explosions rang out that morning, and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the United States of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets. The explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.

    Restrictions imposed by the U.S. government on airspace around Venezuela and the Caribbean expired early Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X, an announcement that suggested any further immediate major U.S. military action was unlikely. “Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly,” he posted.

    Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodríguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she become interim president.

    “There is only one president in Venezuela,” Rodriguez said, “and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.”

    Video below: President Donald Trump’s full comments on Venezuela strike and Nicolas Maduro capture

    Some streets in Caracas fill up

    Venezuela’s ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

    Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

    In a demonstration of how polarizing Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to protest his capture, while others celebrated it. At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro’s return.

    “Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. “We are here, Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!”

    In other parts of the city, the streets were empty hours after the attack.

    “How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared. Many families couldn’t sleep.”

    In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”

    Questions of legality

    Whether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, was still a question early Sunday. “There are a number of international legal concepts which the United States might have broken by capturing Maduro,” said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.

    In New York, the U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning. That was according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting not yet made public.

    Lawmakers from both American political parties have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress has not approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

    Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

    ___

    Toropin and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela; Lisa Mascaro, Michelle L. Price, Seung Min Kim and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington; Farnoush Amiri in New York; and Larry Neumeister in South Amboy, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

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  • Maduro arrives in US after capture in operation that Trump says will let US ‘run’ Venezuela

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    Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in an audacious nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.Maduro landed Saturday evening at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas — an act that Maduro’s government called “imperialist.” The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuela’s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the United States free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader as her nation’s high court named her interim president.Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, who didn’t give a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured, but none were killed.Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries. Trump says US will ‘run the country’The Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.Trump claimed the U.S. government would help lead the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate visible signs of that. Venezuelan state TV aired pro-Maduro propaganda and broadcast live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. He boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. campaign began in September.Early morning attackTaking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights” in Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.“We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” Caine said. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”Multiple explosions rang out that morning, and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the United States of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets. The explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.Restrictions imposed by the U.S. government on airspace around Venezuela and the Caribbean expired early Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X, an announcement that suggested any further immediate major U.S. military action was unlikely. “Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly,” he posted.Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodríguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she become interim president.“There is only one president in Venezuela,” Rodriguez said, “and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.”Some streets in Caracas fill upVenezuela’s ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.In a demonstration of how polarizing Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to protest his capture, while others celebrated it. At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro’s return.“Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. “We are here, Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!”In other parts of the city, the streets were empty hours after the attack.“How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared. Many families couldn’t sleep.”In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”Questions of legalityWhether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, was still a question early Sunday. “There are a number of international legal concepts which the United States might have broken by capturing Maduro,” said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.In New York, the U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning. That was according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting not yet made public.Lawmakers from both American political parties have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress has not approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”___Toropin and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela; Lisa Mascaro, Michelle L. Price, Seung Min Kim and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington; Farnoush Amiri in New York; and Larry Neumeister in South Amboy, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

    Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in an audacious nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

    Maduro landed Saturday evening at a small airport in New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas — an act that Maduro’s government called “imperialist.” The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

    The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuela’s autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval.

    Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the United States free Maduro and called him the country’s rightful leader as her nation’s high court named her interim president.

    Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodríguez, who didn’t give a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured, but none were killed.

    Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to “fix” the country’s oil infrastructure and sell “large amounts” of oil to other countries.

    Trump says US will ‘run the country’

    The Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

    Trump claimed the U.S. government would help lead the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate visible signs of that. Venezuelan state TV aired pro-Maduro propaganda and broadcast live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

    “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. He boasted that this “extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.”

    Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the country’s leader.

    The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. campaign began in September.

    Early morning attack

    Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the U.S. turned off “almost all of the lights” in Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

    Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro — where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

    “We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again,” Caine said. “Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.”

    Multiple explosions rang out that morning, and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduro’s government accused the United States of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an “imperialist attack” and urging citizens to take to the streets. The explosions — at least seven blasts — sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.

    Restrictions imposed by the U.S. government on airspace around Venezuela and the Caribbean expired early Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X, an announcement that suggested any further immediate major U.S. military action was unlikely. “Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly,” he posted.

    Under Venezuelan law, Rodríguez would take over from Maduro. Rodríguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuela’s high court ordered that she become interim president.

    “There is only one president in Venezuela,” Rodriguez said, “and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros.”

    Some streets in Caracas fill up

    Venezuela’s ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

    Maduro took over when Chávez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

    In a demonstration of how polarizing Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to protest his capture, while others celebrated it. At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Mayor Carmen Meléndez joined a crowd demanding Maduro’s return.

    “Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up!” the crowd chanted. “We are here, Nicolás Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!”

    In other parts of the city, the streets were empty hours after the attack.

    “How do I feel? Scared, like everyone,” said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking at his phone. “Venezuelans woke up scared. Many families couldn’t sleep.”

    In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted “Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!”

    Questions of legality

    Whether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, was still a question early Sunday. “There are a number of international legal concepts which the United States might have broken by capturing Maduro,” said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.

    In New York, the U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning. That was according to a council diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a meeting not yet made public.

    Lawmakers from both American political parties have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress has not approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

    Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on “its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.”

    ___

    Toropin and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela; Lisa Mascaro, Michelle L. Price, Seung Min Kim and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington; Farnoush Amiri in New York; and Larry Neumeister in South Amboy, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

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  • Airspace and travel restrictions on much of Caribbean airspace following US strikes on Venezuela

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    Much of Caribbean airspace has been closed as the United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday and said President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington — an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack. This has caused flight cancellations to and from Caribbean airports. So far, there have been nearly 900 cancellations and over 4,000 delays.The airspace closure impacted thousands of people traveling to or from Caribbean countries, all as a busy holiday travel season winds down.Related video above: See a report on the strikes and capture of Venezuela’s presidentThe legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday. Here’s what the attack on Venezuela means for travel in the region:FAA imposes airspace restriction on Puerto RicoThe Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a temporary airspace restriction on Puerto Rico’s international airport and surrounding regions.An announcement by Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan posted on the social media site X said the restriction was placed because of the “security situation related to military activity” in Venezuela.As a result, most commercial airlines to and from the airport that are operated by U.S. airlines have been suspended or may be canceled.Foreign airlines and military aircraft are not included in this restriction, the statement said. “Passengers are urged to check the status of their flight directly with their airline before heading to the airport.”Delta Airlines announced that it began canceling flights in Caribbean airspace Saturday morning, and announcements from American Airlines and United followed soon after.State Department urges Americans in Venezuela to shelter in placeThe State Department issued a new travel alert early Saturday, warning Americans in Venezuela urging them to “shelter in place” due to the situation.”U.S. Embassy Bogota is aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela,” it said without elaboration.”The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela. U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place.” The embassy in Bogota has been shuttered since March 2019 but operates remotely.The view from New EnglandThe cancellations affected many New England travelers, some of whom became stranded in foreign countries.”At first, we didn’t know what was going on because they kept delaying the flight,” said Tricia Maloney. “All the flights but ours were cancelled, and ours kept being delayed and delayed and delayed and it was finally cancelled.”Maloney and her family were scheduled to fly back to Boston on Saturday from vacation in Curacao, which is about 40 miles from Venezuela.Plans quickly changed for them.”Our hotel didn’t have any availability, so everyone was scrambling for hotels,” Maloney said. “So, we’re in a new hotel now for tonight, and we’ll have to figure something out tomorrow.”Others, like the Marchese family from Wilbraham, ran into the opposite problem.They were supposed to vacation in Aruba, but amid ongoing flight restrictions, their plan B is Florida.Two families from New Hampshire are now struggling to make changes.”Everyone is like panicking, we can’t even find flights out here until Friday,” said Casie Woodman of Fremont, New Hampshire.A vacation to Aruba for Casie Woodman, of Fremont, New Hampshire, is taking an unexpected turn after she woke up Saturday to learn of the U.S military actions in Venezuela and the closed airspace in the area. “There’s no flights through any airlines, even just to get in the United States, until Friday,” said Woodman.Woodman says families at the resort are scrambling and older people are concerned about getting their medicine.Manchester’s Gus Emmick and his family thought they’d be spending their vacation in Saint Martin, but now they are at Logan Airport.”Many, many families are just sitting here trying to scramble and figure out what happened and what they are going to do,” said Gus Emmick, of Manchester, New Hampshire.The family is switching gears and looking to head to Florida.”As much as we love New Hampshire, December has been a little rough, so we are looking for warmer weather and hoping we’ll see some,” said Emmick.Aviation expert Tom Kinton said safety is the reason behind the airspace closure.”There were hundreds of aircraft and fixed-wing drones as part of this operation. You want to get that all cleaned up before you let civilian aircraft back into that airspace again,” said Tom Kinton. According to the FAA, the closed airspace is impacting flights in and out of Caribbean destinations like Aruba, Barbados and even Puerto Rico. Delta flights to and from the following airports have been cancelled for the day, according to a spokesperson. They are as follows:Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico (SJU)Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten (SXM)Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in Saint Croix (STX)Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas (STT)Queen Beatrix International Airport in Aruba (AUA)Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport on St. Kitts, Caribbean Islands (SKB)Curaçao International Airport in Curaçao (CUR)Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados (BGI)Hewanorra International Airport in St. Lucia (UVF)Bonaire International Airport near Kralendijk in the Caribbean Netherlands (BON)Argyle International Airport in Argyle, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVD)Maurice Bishop International Airport in Grenada (GND)V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua and Barbuda (ANU)It’s unclear when the Delta flights will resume for these airports. Now, Kinton said the airspace is slated to open at 5 a.m. Sunday. However, it could be that a narrower airspace is opened for the time being or the opening could be delayed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Much of Caribbean airspace has been closed as the United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday and said President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington — an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack.

    This has caused flight cancellations to and from Caribbean airports. So far, there have been nearly 900 cancellations and over 4,000 delays.

    The airspace closure impacted thousands of people traveling to or from Caribbean countries, all as a busy holiday travel season winds down.

    Related video above: See a report on the strikes and capture of Venezuela’s president

    The legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.

    Here’s what the attack on Venezuela means for travel in the region:

    FAA imposes airspace restriction on Puerto Rico

    The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a temporary airspace restriction on Puerto Rico’s international airport and surrounding regions.

    An announcement by Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan posted on the social media site X said the restriction was placed because of the “security situation related to military activity” in Venezuela.

    MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO

    Passengers wait at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport as all flights are cancelled following U.S. military action in Venezuela, on Jan. 3, 2026, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. 

    As a result, most commercial airlines to and from the airport that are operated by U.S. airlines have been suspended or may be canceled.

    Foreign airlines and military aircraft are not included in this restriction, the statement said. “Passengers are urged to check the status of their flight directly with their airline before heading to the airport.”

    Delta Airlines announced that it began canceling flights in Caribbean airspace Saturday morning, and announcements from American Airlines and United followed soon after.

    State Department urges Americans in Venezuela to shelter in place

    The State Department issued a new travel alert early Saturday, warning Americans in Venezuela urging them to “shelter in place” due to the situation.

    “U.S. Embassy Bogota is aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela,” it said without elaboration.

    “The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela. U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place.” The embassy in Bogota has been shuttered since March 2019 but operates remotely.

    The view from New England

    The cancellations affected many New England travelers, some of whom became stranded in foreign countries.

    “At first, we didn’t know what was going on because they kept delaying the flight,” said Tricia Maloney. “All the flights but ours were cancelled, and ours kept being delayed and delayed and delayed and it was finally cancelled.”

    Maloney and her family were scheduled to fly back to Boston on Saturday from vacation in Curacao, which is about 40 miles from Venezuela.

    Plans quickly changed for them.

    “Our hotel didn’t have any availability, so everyone was scrambling for hotels,” Maloney said. “So, we’re in a new hotel now for tonight, and we’ll have to figure something out tomorrow.”

    Others, like the Marchese family from Wilbraham, ran into the opposite problem.

    They were supposed to vacation in Aruba, but amid ongoing flight restrictions, their plan B is Florida.

    Two families from New Hampshire are now struggling to make changes.

    “Everyone is like panicking, we can’t even find flights out here until Friday,” said Casie Woodman of Fremont, New Hampshire.

    A vacation to Aruba for Casie Woodman, of Fremont, New Hampshire, is taking an unexpected turn after she woke up Saturday to learn of the U.S military actions in Venezuela and the closed airspace in the area.

    “There’s no flights through any airlines, even just to get in the United States, until Friday,” said Woodman.

    Woodman says families at the resort are scrambling and older people are concerned about getting their medicine.

    Manchester’s Gus Emmick and his family thought they’d be spending their vacation in Saint Martin, but now they are at Logan Airport.

    “Many, many families are just sitting here trying to scramble and figure out what happened and what they are going to do,” said Gus Emmick, of Manchester, New Hampshire.

    The family is switching gears and looking to head to Florida.

    “As much as we love New Hampshire, December has been a little rough, so we are looking for warmer weather and hoping we’ll see some,” said Emmick.

    Aviation expert Tom Kinton said safety is the reason behind the airspace closure.

    “There were hundreds of aircraft and fixed-wing drones as part of this operation. You want to get that all cleaned up before you let civilian aircraft back into that airspace again,” said Tom Kinton.

    According to the FAA, the closed airspace is impacting flights in and out of Caribbean destinations like Aruba, Barbados and even Puerto Rico.

    Delta flights to and from the following airports have been cancelled for the day, according to a spokesperson. They are as follows:

    • Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico (SJU)
    • Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten (SXM)
    • Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in Saint Croix (STX)
    • Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas (STT)
    • Queen Beatrix International Airport in Aruba (AUA)
    • Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport on St. Kitts, Caribbean Islands (SKB)
    • Curaçao International Airport in Curaçao (CUR)
    • Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados (BGI)
    • Hewanorra International Airport in St. Lucia (UVF)
    • Bonaire International Airport near Kralendijk in the Caribbean Netherlands (BON)
    • Argyle International Airport in Argyle, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVD)
    • Maurice Bishop International Airport in Grenada (GND)
    • V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua and Barbuda (ANU)

    It’s unclear when the Delta flights will resume for these airports.

    Now, Kinton said the airspace is slated to open at 5 a.m. Sunday. However, it could be that a narrower airspace is opened for the time being or the opening could be delayed.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • NorCal live weather impacts: Sierra chain controls in effect on I-80, slide removal on Highway 50

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    Another round of wet weather and wind could lead to potential severe thunderstorms Saturday and snow-related travel delays in the Sierra through Monday. The KCRA 3 weather team is calling Saturday an “Alert Day” because conditions could risk public safety. Steady overnight rain Friday into Saturday in the Valley will taper off to scattered showers Saturday, with an increase in thunderstorm potential into the afternoon, according to Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn. Sunday is an Alert Day for the Sierra and an Impact Day for the Valley, as the weather could affect travel and outdoor activities. Monday is an Alert Day for the Sierra. See the full weekend forecast here.Track Doppler radar and traffic maps here for rain and snow.Share your weather videos at kcra.com/upload.See the latest road conditions from Caltrans here. Follow live updates of weather impacts below:Saturday: 9:35 a.m.: Here’s another update on Sierra roadways. I-80: Chain controls eastbound from Kingvale to Truckee. Chain controls westbound from the Donner Lake Interchange to 4.7 miles west of Kingvale. Highway 50: One way controlled traffic at 3.8 miles east of Riverton until 8 p.m. due to slide removal. Highway 88: From 6.5 mi east of Peddler Hill to 1 mi west of Woodfords. 9:30 a.m.: Here are impacts to expect today. 7:14 a.m.: The Midtown Farmers Market, a Saturday mainstay in Sacramento, announced it would cancel the market this Saturday due to the anticipated weather forecast.Organizers said the anticipated wind conditions “meet and exceed our established safety threshold.” The market noted that the decision was made in the interest of the vendor, staff and public’s safety.The Jan. 3 event was set to launch a new “circular retail” expansion, aiming to uplift sustainability efforts and upcycling practices.6 a.m. : Sierra chain controls are in effect for portions of Interstate 80 and Highway 50. I-80: Eastbound from Kingvale to Truckee. Westbound from the Donner Lake Interchange to 2.5 miles east of the Highway 20 junction.Highway 88: From 6.5 mi east of Peddler Hill to 1 mi west of Woodfords.Chain controls means that cars without four-wheel drive and snow tires equipped will need chains installed on their tires.The speed limit on Sierra highways is also reduced during chain controls, with Interstate 80 set at 30 mph and Highway 50 at 25 mph.Friday:10 p.m.: With the rain coming through, typical flood-prone areas will see more water, and while creeks and streams are expected to fill, they should not flood. The primary concern is street flooding, which is often caused by blocked drains.”What happens is we get these winds that come in and start to knock down the leaves off the trees,” Matt Robinson, a Sacramento County public information manager, said. “From time to time, people may toss trash onto the street. Those things compile and end up blocking our drainage system, causing street flooding. This is what we want to avoid.”To mitigate the risk, the county is urging residents in unincorporated areas to clean the drains and culverts near their properties. Additionally, officials advise against driving through flooded waters.9 p.m.: Dirk Verdoorn times out the forecast:REAL-TIME TRAFFIC MAPClick here to see our interactive traffic map.TRACK INTERACTIVE, DOPPLER RADARClick here to see our interactive radar.DOWNLOAD OUR APP FOR THE LATESTHere is where you can download our app.Follow our KCRA weather team on social mediaMeteorologist Tamara Berg on Facebook and X.Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn on FacebookMeteorologist/Climate Reporter Heather Waldman on Facebook and X.Meteorologist Kelly Curran on X.Meteorologist Ophelia Young on Facebook and X.Watch our forecasts on TV or onlineHere’s where to find our latest video forecast. You can also watch a livestream of our latest newscast here. The banner on our website turns red when we’re live.We’re also streaming on the Very Local app for Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV.See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.–KCRA 3’s Daniel Macht contributed to this story.

    Another round of wet weather and wind could lead to potential severe thunderstorms Saturday and snow-related travel delays in the Sierra through Monday.

    The KCRA 3 weather team is calling Saturday an “Alert Day” because conditions could risk public safety.

    Steady overnight rain Friday into Saturday in the Valley will taper off to scattered showers Saturday, with an increase in thunderstorm potential into the afternoon, according to Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn.

    Sunday is an Alert Day for the Sierra and an Impact Day for the Valley, as the weather could affect travel and outdoor activities. Monday is an Alert Day for the Sierra.

    Follow live updates of weather impacts below:

    Saturday:

    9:35 a.m.: Here’s another update on Sierra roadways.

    • I-80: Chain controls eastbound from Kingvale to Truckee. Chain controls westbound from the Donner Lake Interchange to 4.7 miles west of Kingvale.
    • Highway 50: One way controlled traffic at 3.8 miles east of Riverton until 8 p.m. due to slide removal.
    • Highway 88: From 6.5 mi east of Peddler Hill to 1 mi west of Woodfords.

    9:30 a.m.: Here are impacts to expect today.

    [twitter align=’center’ id=’2007496937013121468′ username=”KCRAKelly”]https://twitter.com/KCRAKelly/status/2007496937013121468[/twitter]

    7:14 a.m.: The Midtown Farmers Market, a Saturday mainstay in Sacramento, announced it would cancel the market this Saturday due to the anticipated weather forecast.

    Organizers said the anticipated wind conditions “meet and exceed our established safety threshold.” The market noted that the decision was made in the interest of the vendor, staff and public’s safety.

    The Jan. 3 event was set to launch a new “circular retail” expansion, aiming to uplift sustainability efforts and upcycling practices.

    6 a.m. : Sierra chain controls are in effect for portions of Interstate 80 and Highway 50.

    • I-80: Eastbound from Kingvale to Truckee. Westbound from the Donner Lake Interchange to 2.5 miles east of the Highway 20 junction.
    • Highway 88: From 6.5 mi east of Peddler Hill to 1 mi west of Woodfords.

    Chain controls means that cars without four-wheel drive and snow tires equipped will need chains installed on their tires.

    The speed limit on Sierra highways is also reduced during chain controls, with Interstate 80 set at 30 mph and Highway 50 at 25 mph.

    Friday:

    10 p.m.: With the rain coming through, typical flood-prone areas will see more water, and while creeks and streams are expected to fill, they should not flood. The primary concern is street flooding, which is often caused by blocked drains.

    [mediaosvideo align=” embedId=’511a4561-b61b-4695-942f-60f99ce87a58′ mediaId=’644022eb-011d-4b2c-be9b-0197701159b6′ size=””][/mediaosvideo]

    “What happens is we get these winds that come in and start to knock down the leaves off the trees,” Matt Robinson, a Sacramento County public information manager, said. “From time to time, people may toss trash onto the street. Those things compile and end up blocking our drainage system, causing street flooding. This is what we want to avoid.”

    To mitigate the risk, the county is urging residents in unincorporated areas to clean the drains and culverts near their properties. Additionally, officials advise against driving through flooded waters.

    9 p.m.: Dirk Verdoorn times out the forecast:

    [image id=’687c8f77-1f8e-4ff8-82bb-4893f7316212′ mediaId=’7bbc51ca-72a4-4381-9230-df19bf5a27d6′ align=’center’ size=”medium” share=”true” caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image][image id=’ee2bccc7-6f35-4715-b80f-ce710b6dd69c’ mediaId=’95194365-a0c3-45f4-a074-ff75095fe632′ align=’center’ size=”medium” share=”true” caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image]

    REAL-TIME TRAFFIC MAP
    Click here to see our interactive traffic map.
    TRACK INTERACTIVE, DOPPLER RADAR
    Click here to see our interactive radar.
    DOWNLOAD OUR APP FOR THE LATEST
    Here is where you can download our app.
    Follow our KCRA weather team on social media

    • Meteorologist Tamara Berg on Facebook and X.
    • Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn on Facebook
    • Meteorologist/Climate Reporter Heather Waldman on Facebook and X.
    • Meteorologist Kelly Curran on X.
    • Meteorologist Ophelia Young on Facebook and X.

    Watch our forecasts on TV or online
    Here’s where to find our latest video forecast. You can also watch a livestream of our latest newscast here. The banner on our website turns red when we’re live.
    We’re also streaming on the Very Local app for Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV.

    See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.

    –KCRA 3’s Daniel Macht contributed to this story.

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  • Major Russian drone, missile attack on Ukraine kills at least 3 people, cuts power

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    Russia fired more than 600 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a large-scale attack that began during the night and stretched into daylight hours Tuesday, officials said. At least three people were killed, including a 4-year-old child, two days before Christmas.The barrage struck homes and the power grid in 13 regions of Ukraine, causing widespread outages in bitter temperatures, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, a day after he described recent progress on finding a peace deal as “quite solid.”The bombardment demonstrated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention of pursuing the invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian and European officials have complained that Putin is not sincerely engaging with U.S.-led peace efforts.The attack “is an extremely clear signal of Russian priorities,” Zelenskyy said. “A strike before Christmas, when people want to be with their families, at home, in safety. A strike, in fact, in the midst of negotiations that are being conducted to end this war. Putin cannot accept the fact that we must stop killing.”For months, U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressing for a peace agreement, but the negotiations have become entangled in the very different demands from Moscow and Kyiv.U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday he held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives. Trump was less effusive Monday, saying, “The talks are going along.”Initial reports from Ukrainian emergency services said the child died in Ukraine’s northwestern Zhytomyr region, while a drone killed a woman in the Kyiv region, and another civilian death was recorded in the western Khmelnytskyi region, according to Zelenskyy.Russia launched 635 drones of various types and 38 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. Air defenses stopped 587 drones and 34 missiles, it said.It was the ninth large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy system this year and left multiple regions in the west without power, while emergency power outages were in place across the country, acting Energy Minister Artem Nekraso said. Work to restore power would begin as soon as the security situation permitted, he said.Ukraine’s largest private energy supplier, DTEK, said the attack targeted thermal power stations in what it said was the seventh major strike on the company’s facilities since October.DTEK’s thermal power plants have been hit more than 220 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Those attacks have killed four workers and wounded 59.Authorities in the western regions of Rivne, Ternopil and Lviv, as well as the northern Sumy region, reported damage to energy infrastructure or power outages after the attack.In the southern Odesa region, Russia struck energy, port, transport, industrial and residential infrastructure, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.A merchant ship and over 120 homes were damaged, he said.

    KYIV, Ukraine —

    Russia fired more than 600 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a large-scale attack that began during the night and stretched into daylight hours Tuesday, officials said. At least three people were killed, including a 4-year-old child, two days before Christmas.

    The barrage struck homes and the power grid in 13 regions of Ukraine, causing widespread outages in bitter temperatures, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, a day after he described recent progress on finding a peace deal as “quite solid.”

    The bombardment demonstrated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intention of pursuing the invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian and European officials have complained that Putin is not sincerely engaging with U.S.-led peace efforts.

    The attack “is an extremely clear signal of Russian priorities,” Zelenskyy said. “A strike before Christmas, when people want to be with their families, at home, in safety. A strike, in fact, in the midst of negotiations that are being conducted to end this war. Putin cannot accept the fact that we must stop killing.”

    For months, U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressing for a peace agreement, but the negotiations have become entangled in the very different demands from Moscow and Kyiv.

    U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday he held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives. Trump was less effusive Monday, saying, “The talks are going along.”

    Initial reports from Ukrainian emergency services said the child died in Ukraine’s northwestern Zhytomyr region, while a drone killed a woman in the Kyiv region, and another civilian death was recorded in the western Khmelnytskyi region, according to Zelenskyy.

    Russia launched 635 drones of various types and 38 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said. Air defenses stopped 587 drones and 34 missiles, it said.

    It was the ninth large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine’s energy system this year and left multiple regions in the west without power, while emergency power outages were in place across the country, acting Energy Minister Artem Nekraso said. Work to restore power would begin as soon as the security situation permitted, he said.

    Ukraine’s largest private energy supplier, DTEK, said the attack targeted thermal power stations in what it said was the seventh major strike on the company’s facilities since October.

    DTEK’s thermal power plants have been hit more than 220 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Those attacks have killed four workers and wounded 59.

    Authorities in the western regions of Rivne, Ternopil and Lviv, as well as the northern Sumy region, reported damage to energy infrastructure or power outages after the attack.

    In the southern Odesa region, Russia struck energy, port, transport, industrial and residential infrastructure, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.

    A merchant ship and over 120 homes were damaged, he said.

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  • Storm forecast update: Damaging winds, heavy rain, snow in Northern California Christmas week

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    Northern California will see a break in the wet weather on Tuesday, but a powerful storm will send several rounds of potentially damaging winds, heavy rain and heavy snow to the region Tuesday night through Thursday. This comes after some places in the Foothills and Sierra measured 6 to 11 inches of rain since Saturday. The KCRA 3 weather team is issuing Alert Days for Wednesday and Thursday, which are issued to indicate conditions that could prove risky to public safety.Friday is expected to be an Impact Day. Showers and mountain snow will likely cause travel delays, but winds will be calmer.Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Sunday night that emergency response teams and equipment are being deployed to nine counties to protect from flooding and severe weather. KCRA 3 reached out to the governor’s office to find out which counties this applies to. The governor’s office responded, saying that El Dorado, Orange, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Colusa, Glenn, Plumas and Nevada counties will be receiving the extra equipment and personnel. The first round of high winds and heavy rain will move across the region between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 4 a.m. Wednesday. Gusts of 40 to 60 mph could cause tree damage in the Valley and Foothills. Scattered power outages are also possible going into Christmas Eve Day. A High Wind Watch was issued by the National Weather Service for the Coastal Hills, Valley and Foothills. It will be in effect from 7 pm Tuesday through 4 am Wednesday.Brief bursts of heavy rain will come with the winds overnight. Most of the daylight hours Wednesday will be calmer with scattered showers in the Valley and steadier rain in the Foothills. Another round of high winds and heavy rain is expected Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The Sacramento Valley could see an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain by Friday. As each band of rain moves east into the Sierra, precipitation will turn into heavy snow. Wednesday’s snow level will be around 6,500 feet. This is low enough for accumulation at the Tahoe area summits. Long delays and chain controls are possible Wednesday.The snow level will drop to 4,500 feet on Thursday and then 4,000 feet on Friday. Check the latest chain control information from Caltrans here.In total, the Tahoe area summits could measure several feet of snow by Friday evening. Drivers should avoid traveling in the mountains Wednesday through Friday if possible. Leer en españolShare your weather photos and videos with us at kcra.com/uploadWatch our latest nowcast here REAL-TIME TRAFFIC MAPClick here to see our interactive traffic map.TRACK INTERACTIVE, DOPPLER RADARClick here to see our interactive radar.DOWNLOAD OUR APP FOR THE LATESTHere is where you can download our app.Follow our KCRA weather team on social mediaMeteorologist Tamara Berg on Facebook and X.Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn on FacebookMeteorologist Heather Waldman on Facebook and X.Meteorologist Kelly Curran on X.Meteorologist Ophelia Young on Facebook and X.Watch our forecasts on TV or onlineHere’s where to find our latest video forecast. You can also watch a livestream of our latest newscast here. The banner on our website turns red when we’re live.We’re also streaming on the Very Local app for Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV.

    Northern California will see a break in the wet weather on Tuesday, but a powerful storm will send several rounds of potentially damaging winds, heavy rain and heavy snow to the region Tuesday night through Thursday.

    This comes after some places in the Foothills and Sierra measured 6 to 11 inches of rain since Saturday.

    The KCRA 3 weather team is issuing Alert Days for Wednesday and Thursday, which are issued to indicate conditions that could prove risky to public safety.

    Hearst Owned

    Wednesday and Thursday are KCRA 3 weather Alert Days. High winds, heavy rain and heavy snow will significantly impact plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

    Friday is expected to be an Impact Day. Showers and mountain snow will likely cause travel delays, but winds will be calmer.

    Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Sunday night that emergency response teams and equipment are being deployed to nine counties to protect from flooding and severe weather. KCRA 3 reached out to the governor’s office to find out which counties this applies to. The governor’s office responded, saying that El Dorado, Orange, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Colusa, Glenn, Plumas and Nevada counties will be receiving the extra equipment and personnel.

    The first round of high winds and heavy rain will move across the region between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 4 a.m. Wednesday. Gusts of 40 to 60 mph could cause tree damage in the Valley and Foothills. Scattered power outages are also possible going into Christmas Eve Day.

    A High Wind Watch was issued by the National Weather Service for the Coastal Hills, Valley and Foothills. It will be in effect from 7 pm Tuesday through 4 am Wednesday.

    winds

    Hearst Owned

    A High Wind Watch will be in effect starting at 7 pm Tuesday.

    Brief bursts of heavy rain will come with the winds overnight. Most of the daylight hours Wednesday will be calmer with scattered showers in the Valley and steadier rain in the Foothills.

    Another round of high winds and heavy rain is expected Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The Sacramento Valley could see an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain by Friday.

    As each band of rain moves east into the Sierra, precipitation will turn into heavy snow. Wednesday’s snow level will be around 6,500 feet. This is low enough for accumulation at the Tahoe area summits. Long delays and chain controls are possible Wednesday.

    The snow level will drop to 4,500 feet on Thursday and then 4,000 feet on Friday.

    In total, the Tahoe area summits could measure several feet of snow by Friday evening. Drivers should avoid traveling in the mountains Wednesday through Friday if possible.

    snow

    Hearst Owned

    Sierra snow will be measured in feet later this week.

    REAL-TIME TRAFFIC MAP
    Click here to see our interactive traffic map.
    TRACK INTERACTIVE, DOPPLER RADAR
    Click here to see our interactive radar.
    DOWNLOAD OUR APP FOR THE LATEST
    Here is where you can download our app.

    Follow our KCRA weather team on social media

    • Meteorologist Tamara Berg on Facebook and X.
    • Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn on Facebook
    • Meteorologist Heather Waldman on Facebook and X.
    • Meteorologist Kelly Curran on X.
    • Meteorologist Ophelia Young on Facebook and X.

    Watch our forecasts on TV or online
    Here’s where to find our latest video forecast. You can also watch a livestream of our latest newscast here. The banner on our website turns red when we’re live.
    We’re also streaming on the Very Local app for Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV.

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  • Atmospheric river forecast update: Rain, wind and snow could disrupt plans during Christmas week

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    Northern California’s weeks-long dry spell is about to break in a big way. Storm systems will send atmospheric river moisture to the region starting this weekend. Rounds of heavy rain and snow are expected through at least Christmas Day. Sunday, Monday and Wednesday are KCRA 3 weather Impact Days. Thursday is now a KCRA 3 weather Alert Day. Wet and breezy conditions are becoming increasingly likely each of those days for the Valley and Foothills. The Sierra will see mainly rain through Tuesday, but heavy snow is now expected Wednesday and Thursday.Leer en español. How much rain?Atmospheric river moisture will be a major ingredient in next week’s weather setup. That means rain will be persistent and sometimes heavy, especially in the hills. Rain totals will be highest in the Sierra and upper Foothills. Places like Blue Canyon could see up to 15 inches of rain from Saturday night through Wednesday. Placerville, Nevada City, Sonora and other communities in the Foothills could close to 10 inches of rain. The Sacramento Valley could see up to 6 inches of rain through Thursday. Areas in the San Joaquin Valley could see up to 5 inches of rain. Will there be flooding?Recent dry weather means all of the region’s basins and reservoirs have plenty of room to take in runoff as rain begins. Creeks will rise Sunday and Monday, but flooding is not expected. Tuesday’s break in the steady rain will allow time for creeks and streams to recede. Heavy rounds of rain could lead to some creek flooding Wednesday and Thursday. When will there be snow? Snow is badly needed in the Sierra, it’s finally in the forecast. The summits could see feet of powder later next week. Snow levels Saturday, Sunday and Monday will mainly stay above the passes. The exception could be during the overnight hours when temperatures could be just cold enough for snow at the summits. Tuesday is when the snow level may drop enough snow to fall at the summits, but precipitation will likely be light on Tuesday as the best moisture shifts north. Travel delays and chain controls are more likely Wednesday and Thursday of next week. These are days to avoid mountain travel if possible. REAL-TIME TRAFFIC MAPClick here to see our interactive traffic map.TRACK INTERACTIVE, DOPPLER RADARClick here to see our interactive radar.DOWNLOAD OUR APP FOR THE LATESTHere is where you can download our app.Follow our KCRA weather team on social mediaMeteorologist Tamara Berg on Facebook and X.Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn on FacebookMeteorologist/Climate Reporter Heather Waldman on Facebook and X.Meteorologist Kelly Curran on X.Meteorologist Ophelia Young on Facebook and X.Watch our forecasts on TV or onlineHere’s where to find our latest video forecast. You can also watch a livestream of our latest newscast here. The banner on our website turns red when we’re live.We’re also streaming on the Very Local app for Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV.

    Northern California’s weeks-long dry spell is about to break in a big way. Storm systems will send atmospheric river moisture to the region starting this weekend. Rounds of heavy rain and snow are expected through at least Christmas Day.

    Sunday, Monday and Wednesday are KCRA 3 weather Impact Days. Thursday is now a KCRA 3 weather Alert Day. Wet and breezy conditions are becoming increasingly likely each of those days for the Valley and Foothills. The Sierra will see mainly rain through Tuesday, but heavy snow is now expected Wednesday and Thursday.

    Leer en español.

    How much rain?

    Atmospheric river moisture will be a major ingredient in next week’s weather setup. That means rain will be persistent and sometimes heavy, especially in the hills.

    Hearst Owned

    7-day rain totals could reach half a foot in the Valley and over a foot in the higher elevations. 

    Rain totals will be highest in the Sierra and upper Foothills. Places like Blue Canyon could see up to 15 inches of rain from Saturday night through Wednesday.

    Placerville, Nevada City, Sonora and other communities in the Foothills could close to 10 inches of rain.

    The Sacramento Valley could see up to 6 inches of rain through Thursday. Areas in the San Joaquin Valley could see up to 5 inches of rain.

    Will there be flooding?

    Recent dry weather means all of the region’s basins and reservoirs have plenty of room to take in runoff as rain begins. Creeks will rise Sunday and Monday, but flooding is not expected.

    Tuesday’s break in the steady rain will allow time for creeks and streams to recede. Heavy rounds of rain could lead to some creek flooding Wednesday and Thursday.

    When will there be snow?

    Snow is badly needed in the Sierra, it’s finally in the forecast. The summits could see feet of powder later next week.

    Snow levels Saturday, Sunday and Monday will mainly stay above the passes. The exception could be during the overnight hours when temperatures could be just cold enough for snow at the summits.

    Tuesday is when the snow level may drop enough snow to fall at the summits, but precipitation will likely be light on Tuesday as the best moisture shifts north. Travel delays and chain controls are more likely Wednesday and Thursday of next week. These are days to avoid mountain travel if possible.

    REAL-TIME TRAFFIC MAP
    Click here to see our interactive traffic map.
    TRACK INTERACTIVE, DOPPLER RADAR
    Click here to see our interactive radar.
    DOWNLOAD OUR APP FOR THE LATEST
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    Follow our KCRA weather team on social media

    • Meteorologist Tamara Berg on Facebook and X.
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    • Meteorologist Kelly Curran on X.
    • Meteorologist Ophelia Young on Facebook and X.

    Watch our forecasts on TV or online
    Here’s where to find our latest video forecast. You can also watch a livestream of our latest newscast here. The banner on our website turns red when we’re live.
    We’re also streaming on the Very Local app for Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV.

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  • Amazon distribution center at LAX sells for record price

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    An Amazon warehouse near the gates of Los Angeles International Airport has sold for a record price as logistics centers near transportation hubs grow in value.

    The real estate investment arm of global financial services firm Morgan Stanley recently paid $211 million for the distribution center on 98th Street amid several private long-term parking structures that serve LAX.

    It was the biggest industrial real estate deal of the year in greater Los Angeles, according to real estate data provider CoStar.

    The distribution center was built earlier this year to serve Amazon, which occupies the entire 143,060-square-foot facility in what CoStar said is “one of the most in-demand industrial corridors in the country. “

    With industrial property vacancy near historic lows in the region and a shortage of land around LAX, investors continue to crowd into the few modern developments that come online, said Jesse Gundersheim, a senior analyst at CoStar.

    Having a prominent tenant in place made the distribution center even more desirable, he said.

    “The rise of e-commerce has fundamentally increased demand for well-located, modern logistics assets, which we believe are critical infrastructure for today’s economy and offer strong, long-term growth,” said Will Milam, head of U.S. Investments at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing.

    The seller was Overton Moore Properties, which paid $115 million for the site in 2020 before redeveloping it for Amazon. Torrance-based Overton Moore develops and operates logistics properties in the Western U.S.

    Morgan Stanley manages $53 billion in gross real estate assets worldwide and has been building a foothold in industrial hubs near major ports and transportation links.

    “We are pleased to acquire this facility in a highly strategic distribution location, underscoring our continued strategy of securing key net lease investments in core logistics markets,” said David Gross, managing director at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing.

    “This facility in particular is a critical asset for distribution and logistics needs in a significant region of Southern California where both a lack of space and regulatory hurdles present development constraints,” he said

    Industrial sales volume is up 4% year over year in Los Angeles, as capital costs have come down, driven by lower interest rates, Gundershiem said.

    The year-to-date deal count has topped 800 transactions, surpassing the full-year totals of the past two years, with sales volume above $5 billion.

    Institutional investors such as Morgan Stanley have been responsible for about one-third of the acquisition volume in Los Angeles this year, Gundersheim said.

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  • Trump: US land action against alleged drug-trafficking networks in Venezuela will start ‘very soon’

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    President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that the United States is preparing to take new action against alleged drug trafficking networks in Venezuela, telling service members during a Thanksgiving call that efforts for strikes in land will be starting “very soon.””In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many. Of course, there aren’t too many coming in by sea anymore,” Trump told service members in the call.Video above: Foreign Terrorist Org: How a new designation could escalate U.S. military action in Venezuela”You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also,” the president continued. “The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.”We warn them: Stop sending poison to our country,” Trump added.Trump comments suggest he has made up his mind on a course of action in Venezuela following multiple high-level briefings and a mounting US show of force in the region earlier this month.Trump designated Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his government allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization earlier this week.The designation of “Cartel de los Soles,” a phrase that experts say is more a description of allegedly corrupt government officials than an organized crime group, as a foreign terrorist organization will authorize Trump to impose fresh sanctions targeting Maduro’s assets and infrastructure. It doesn’t, however, explicitly authorize the use of lethal force, according to legal experts.The US military has amassed more than a dozen warships and 15,000 troops in the region as part of what the Pentagon has branded “Operation Southern Spear.” The U.S. military has killed more than 80 people in boat strikes as part of the anti-drug-trafficking campaign.CNN reported earlier this month that Trump administration officials told lawmakers in a classified session the US was not planning to launch strikes inside Venezuela and doesn’t have a legal justification that would support attacks against any land targets right now.Lawmakers were told during the session that an opinion produced by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel to justify strikes against suspected drug boats does not permit strikes inside Venezuela itself or any other territories, four sources said.The officials did not rule out any potential future actions, one of the sources said.The administration has largely tried to avoid involving Congress in its military campaign around Latin America. A senior Justice Department official told Congress in November that the U.S. military could continue its lethal strikes on alleged drug traffickers without congressional approval and that the administration is not bound by a decades-old war powers law that would mandate working with lawmakers, CNN has reported.

    CNN —

    President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that the United States is preparing to take new action against alleged drug trafficking networks in Venezuela, telling service members during a Thanksgiving call that efforts for strikes in land will be starting “very soon.”

    “In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many. Of course, there aren’t too many coming in by sea anymore,” Trump told service members in the call.

    Video above: Foreign Terrorist Org: How a new designation could escalate U.S. military action in Venezuela

    “You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also,” the president continued. “The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.

    “We warn them: Stop sending poison to our country,” Trump added.

    Trump comments suggest he has made up his mind on a course of action in Venezuela following multiple high-level briefings and a mounting US show of force in the region earlier this month.

    Trump designated Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his government allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization earlier this week.

    The designation of “Cartel de los Soles,” a phrase that experts say is more a description of allegedly corrupt government officials than an organized crime group, as a foreign terrorist organization will authorize Trump to impose fresh sanctions targeting Maduro’s assets and infrastructure. It doesn’t, however, explicitly authorize the use of lethal force, according to legal experts.

    The US military has amassed more than a dozen warships and 15,000 troops in the region as part of what the Pentagon has branded “Operation Southern Spear.” The U.S. military has killed more than 80 people in boat strikes as part of the anti-drug-trafficking campaign.

    CNN reported earlier this month that Trump administration officials told lawmakers in a classified session the US was not planning to launch strikes inside Venezuela and doesn’t have a legal justification that would support attacks against any land targets right now.

    Lawmakers were told during the session that an opinion produced by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel to justify strikes against suspected drug boats does not permit strikes inside Venezuela itself or any other territories, four sources said.

    The officials did not rule out any potential future actions, one of the sources said.

    The administration has largely tried to avoid involving Congress in its military campaign around Latin America. A senior Justice Department official told Congress in November that the U.S. military could continue its lethal strikes on alleged drug traffickers without congressional approval and that the administration is not bound by a decades-old war powers law that would mandate working with lawmakers, CNN has reported.

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  • Top US military officials are visiting Caribbean leaders as Trump weighs next steps

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    Top U.S. military officials are meeting leaders of Caribbean nations this week as the Trump administration has escalated its firepower in the region as part of what it calls a campaign against drug trafficking.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and meet Wednesday with the country’s top leaders, including President Luis Abinader, Minister of Defense Lt. Gen. Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre and other officials, the Pentagon said Tuesday.The announcement came the same day that Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Donald Trump’s primary military adviser, met with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.They “exchanged views on challenges affecting the Caribbean region, including the destabilizing effects of illicit narcotics, arms, and human trafficking, and transnational criminal organization activities,” according to a summary released by Caine’s office.The U.S. military has built up its largest presence in the region in generations and has been attacking alleged drug-smuggling boats since early September. To date, the military, under Hegseth’s command, has carried out 21 known strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs, killing at least 83 people.The actions are seen by many as a pressure tactic to get Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down. The visits by Hegseth and Caine this week come as Trump evaluates whether to take military action against Venezuela, which he has not ruled out despite raising the possibility of talks with Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the U.S.The Trump administration added extra pressure by officially designating the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a foreign terrorist organization on Monday, although the entity that the U.S. government alleges is led by Maduro is not a cartel per se.While a majority of Caribbean leaders have been muted in their response to the strikes on alleged drug boats, urging peace and dialogue, Persad-Bissessar has stood out for her public praise of the deadly attacks.In early September, she said she had no sympathy for drug traffickers, adding that “the U.S. military should kill them all violently.” Her remarks and support of the strikes have been condemned by some opposition leaders and regional officials.Amery Browne, Trinidad’s former foreign affairs minister, told the local newspaper Newsday that Persad-Bissessar’s stance is “reckless,” and that she has isolated herself from Caricom, a regional trade bloc.According to the Pentagon, Hegseth’s trip to the Dominican Republic will aim “to strengthen defense relationships and reaffirm America’s commitment to defend the homeland.”Meanwhile, Caine also used his time in the region to visit American troops in Puerto Rico and on at least one U.S. Navy ship, thanking service members for their service and sacrifice over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Pentagon said.Caine and Hegseth also visited the region in September, going to Puerto Rico after ships carrying hundreds of U.S. Marines arrived for what officials said was a training exercise.

    WASHINGTON —

    Top U.S. military officials are meeting leaders of Caribbean nations this week as the Trump administration has escalated its firepower in the region as part of what it calls a campaign against drug trafficking.

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and meet Wednesday with the country’s top leaders, including President Luis Abinader, Minister of Defense Lt. Gen. Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre and other officials, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

    The announcement came the same day that Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Donald Trump’s primary military adviser, met with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

    They “exchanged views on challenges affecting the Caribbean region, including the destabilizing effects of illicit narcotics, arms, and human trafficking, and transnational criminal organization activities,” according to a summary released by Caine’s office.

    The U.S. military has built up its largest presence in the region in generations and has been attacking alleged drug-smuggling boats since early September. To date, the military, under Hegseth’s command, has carried out 21 known strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs, killing at least 83 people.

    The actions are seen by many as a pressure tactic to get Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to step down. The visits by Hegseth and Caine this week come as Trump evaluates whether to take military action against Venezuela, which he has not ruled out despite raising the possibility of talks with Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the U.S.

    The Trump administration added extra pressure by officially designating the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a foreign terrorist organization on Monday, although the entity that the U.S. government alleges is led by Maduro is not a cartel per se.

    While a majority of Caribbean leaders have been muted in their response to the strikes on alleged drug boats, urging peace and dialogue, Persad-Bissessar has stood out for her public praise of the deadly attacks.

    In early September, she said she had no sympathy for drug traffickers, adding that “the U.S. military should kill them all violently.” Her remarks and support of the strikes have been condemned by some opposition leaders and regional officials.

    Amery Browne, Trinidad’s former foreign affairs minister, told the local newspaper Newsday that Persad-Bissessar’s stance is “reckless,” and that she has isolated herself from Caricom, a regional trade bloc.

    According to the Pentagon, Hegseth’s trip to the Dominican Republic will aim “to strengthen defense relationships and reaffirm America’s commitment to defend the homeland.”

    Meanwhile, Caine also used his time in the region to visit American troops in Puerto Rico and on at least one U.S. Navy ship, thanking service members for their service and sacrifice over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Pentagon said.

    Caine and Hegseth also visited the region in September, going to Puerto Rico after ships carrying hundreds of U.S. Marines arrived for what officials said was a training exercise.

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  • NorCal forecast: Few showers linger Friday

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    Northern California forecast: Few showers linger Friday

    Friday morning starts damp, with drizzle in the valley and scattered showers across the western foothills and the western slopes of the Sierra.

    DROP OFF A BIRD IF YOU CAN. OR OF COURSE, ANY OF THE KIND OF CONDIMENTS OR THINGS THAT GO ALONG WITH IT, OR A CASH DONATIONS. ALSO A GREAT THING. HERE’S A LIVE LOOK OUTSIDE FROM STOCKTON WHERE WE HAVE STILL SOME CLOUD COVER. EXTENDING TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE UPPER 50S AS A RESULT OF SOME OF THE CLOUDS. 37 RIGHT NOW IN LAKE TAHOE, WHERE AGAIN, WE’VE BEEN SEEING SOME OF THOSE MORE INTERMITTENT BANDS OF RAIN. YESTERDAY MORNING WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT WIND THAT WAS RAMPING UP AT THIS TIME OF THE DAY. NOW WE’VE GOT PRETTY MUCH LIGHT WINDS OUT OF THE EAST AT 12 IN PLACERVILLE LIGHT NORTH FLOW COMING ACROSS YUBA CITY AT JUST THREE MILES PER HOUR. EXPECT THE WINDS ARE GOING TO PLAY PRETTY NICELY FOR THE DAY AHEAD. NOT REALLY DISRUPTING ANY PLANS THAT YOU MAY HAVE OUTDOORS. WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS THE SHOWERS. JUST KIND OF BRUSHING UP FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH AS THERE’S THE WEATHER SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT US THE DELIVERY OF REALLY THIS GOOD PUSH OF RAIN YESTERDAY, AND SNOW IS NOW MOVING TO THE SOUTH. SO THE WRAPAROUND MOISTURE IS WHAT WE WOULD SEE DURING THE DAY TODAY. AND THAT COULD TRIGGER A COUPLE OF SHOWERS, ESPECIALLY BY LUNCHTIME IN THE FOOTHILLS. AND THEN NOTICE AS WE GET INTO THE DAYTIME SATURDAY, WE’RE GOING TO ALSO SEE PLENTY OF DRY TIME DURING THE DAY SATURDAY WITH SOME RAIN SHOWERS IN THE QUEUE THERE ACROSS PARTS OF THE SIERRA. AND THEN AS WE GET INTO SATURDAY AFTERNOON, A CHANCE THAT WE COULD SEE SOME OF THIS MOISTURE POOL AS FAR NORTH INTO AREAS LIKE MODESTO. ALSO AROUND PATTERSON, AND ALSO AROUND TRACY IS WHERE WE MAY SEE THE EXTENT THERE OF SOME OF THOSE RAIN BANDS. NOW, ONCE WE GET INTO THE OVERNIGHT SATURDAY, THAT’S WHEN WE START TO SEE A BIT MORE OF THIS PUSH. AS THIS SYSTEM CONTINUES TO WOBBLE A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE NORTH. SO THIS IS GOING TO BE SUNDAY, 2 A.M. IT’S GOING TO BE RAINING PRETTY GOOD HERE IN THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY. AND ALSO STARTING TO SNOW IN THE SIERRA, PRIMARILY ABOVE 7000FT BEFORE DROPPING DOWN BY SUNDAY MORNING, POTENTIALLY TO AROUND 6000FT. AND THIS IS WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT FOR SUNDAY NIGHT. ANOTHER SYSTEM TAKES AIM AT US. SO WE’VE GOT SUNDAY AND MONDAY. THOSE ARE BOTH GOING TO BE IMPACT DAYS FOR THIS RAIN MOVING IN AND SIERRA SNOW, WHICH OF COURSE COULD IMPACT TRAVEL, LOOKS LIKE THE BETTER DRIER PART OF NEXT WEEK IS TUESDAY AND EVENTUALLY INTO WEDNESDAY. THAT’S WHEN WE COULD SEE AGAIN SOME OF THE BREAK FROM THE RAIN, BUT WE’VE GOT TWO IMPACT DAYS TO GET THROUGH. SOME COOL WEATHER STICKS AROUND THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND. PLAN FOR AGAIN FOOTHILLS IN THE SIERRA TO SEE RAIN AND THEN SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS, ESPECIALLY OVERNIGHT SATURDAY AND INTO SUNDAY MORNING FOR THE VALLEY. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU. THERE WILL BE PERIODS OF RAIN IMPACTING THE WEEKEND. I DON’T THINK TOMORROW IS ONE OF THE DAYS UNLESS IT’S IN THE LATE EVENING, AND THEN AS WE GET INTO SUNDAY SUNDAY, THE FRONT HALF OF THE DAY IS PRETTY WET. MIDDLE PART OF IT LOOKS OKAY. AND THEN IN THE EVENING, OVERNIGHT SUNDAY INTO MONDAY, THE NEXT BLAST OF RAIN COMES. YOU GET HALF OF IT THOUGH THE WEEKEND TO GET STUFF DONE. SO I DON’T WANT TO CALL I

    Northern California forecast: Few showers linger Friday

    Friday morning starts damp, with drizzle in the valley and scattered showers across the western foothills and the western slopes of the Sierra.

    Updated: 6:12 AM PST Nov 14, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Friday morning starts damp, with some sprinkles in the valley and scattered showers across the western foothills and the western slopes of the Sierra.As conditions dry through the day, valley temperatures will climb to near 63 degrees. Foothill highs will be in the upper 50s, with Sierra highs in the low 50s. Winds will remain light. By dinnertime, most of the region will be dry but mostly cloudy.The weekend looks unsettled, with breezy winds and more showers. Saturday should stay dry until dinnertime. The same system moves inland, wrapping more showers into the region overnight into Sunday. Expect a few showers Sunday, with the highest chances in the morning.Another system trails close behind, and next week will start rainy. Sunday and Monday are Impact Days for rain, breezy winds, and a better chance for snow as snow levels drop to around 5,500 feet by Monday morning. Those traveling through the Sierra this coming week should prepare for delays and chain controls.The week will also be cool, with valley highs dropping to the upper 50s. Though there is a dry window Tuesday and Wednesday, another wet system is forecast for late next week.

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    Friday morning starts damp, with some sprinkles in the valley and scattered showers across the western foothills and the western slopes of the Sierra.

    As conditions dry through the day, valley temperatures will climb to near 63 degrees. Foothill highs will be in the upper 50s, with Sierra highs in the low 50s. Winds will remain light. By dinnertime, most of the region will be dry but mostly cloudy.

    The weekend looks unsettled, with breezy winds and more showers. Saturday should stay dry until dinnertime. The same system moves inland, wrapping more showers into the region overnight into Sunday. Expect a few showers Sunday, with the highest chances in the morning.

    Another system trails close behind, and next week will start rainy. Sunday and Monday are Impact Days for rain, breezy winds, and a better chance for snow as snow levels drop to around 5,500 feet by Monday morning. Those traveling through the Sierra this coming week should prepare for delays and chain controls.

    The week will also be cool, with valley highs dropping to the upper 50s. Though there is a dry window Tuesday and Wednesday, another wet system is forecast for late next week.

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  • NorCal forecast: Warm and quiet Sunday

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    Northern California forecast: Warm and quiet Sunday

    Thanks to light northerly winds, Sunday will feel significantly warmer.

    BIT WARMER THAN TODAY, BUT TODAY PHENOMENAL. CONSIDERING THAT NOVEMBER 8TH. NORMAL IS 68 DEGREES. WE WERE THREE DEGREES WARMER THAN THAT, WITH AN OBSERVED HIGH OF 71 AT THE SACRAMENTO EXECUTIVE AIRPORT. HEY, THE DAILY RECORD 81 DEGREES. WE SET THAT BACK IN 1955. WE’RE GOING TO BE A LITTLE CLOSER TO THAT TOMORROW. SO THE SECOND HALF OF YOUR WEEKEND IS GOING TO BE A HANDFUL OF DEGREES WARMER. BUT RIGHT NOW, RATHER COOL. AS WE STEP OUT THIS EVENING, TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE MID TO UPPER 50S IN YUBA CITY AND SACRAMENTO, STOCKTON MODESTO ALSO READY TO DROP DOWN INTO THE 50S. AUBURN AT 54 DEGREES. COMPARE THAT TO CLASS PLACERVILLE AT 64 TRUCKEE AND SOUTH LAKE QUICKLY IN THE 30S. NOW CALM WINDS. IN FACT, THEY ARE NONEXISTENT. BUT WE DO NOTICE THAT THEY ARE FLOWING OFF THE MOUNTAINS AND OUT OF THE NORTH, AND THAT IS GOING TO BE THE WIND DIRECTION TOMORROW UNDER THIS AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE. TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO BUMP UP BY A FEW DEGREES TOMORROW. SO 71 TODAY WE’LL GET TO 77 DEGREES TOMORROW. DESPITE A FEW CLOUDS AROUND THE REGION INCREASING BY AFTERNOON, 75 IN THE FOOTHILLS AND IN THE SIERRA LOOKING FOR HIGHS NEAR 67 DEGREES. HOW ABOUT WE. COPY AND PASTE THAT FOR MONDAY. YOUR WORKWEEK. OFF TO A BEAUTIFUL START. HEY, VETERANS DAY IS NICE TOO, WITH HIGHS NEAR 75 DEGREES UNDER PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES. WEDNESDAY WILL NOTICE THAT TEMPERATURE DROP BACK INTO THE LOW 70S, AND ON THURSDAY BACK BELOW THE NORMAL. WHAT HAPPENS? OUR NEXT STORM SYSTEM ARRIVES. WE HAVE THIS CUT OFF LOW THAT WILL BE OFF THE COAST, AND WE HAVE A TROUGH THAT WILL BE SWINGING IN TO BOOT. THAT ENERGY IN. CHANCE OF RAIN ARRIVES OVERNIGHT. GOING INTO THURSDAY MORNING. LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE SOME GOOD SHOWERS FORECAST FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THURSDAY, AND SOME SNOW IN THE SIERRA TURNING INTO SCATTERED SHOWERS THAT LINGER ALL THE WAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THIS IS RETURNING RAIN, MOUNTAIN SNOW AND BREEZY IF NOT WINDY CONDITIONS STARTING THURSDAY EARLY MORNING LASTING THROUGH FRIDAY. WHAT WE’RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AND IS STILL UNCERTAIN AT THIS MOMENT, IS RAIN AND SNOW AMOUNTS. THE STRENGTH OF THE WINDS WILL BE BREEZY OR WINDY, AND WHERE AND ALSO THE EXACT TIMING OF THIS SYSTEM. BUT I WILL SAY THAT IF YOU ARE A MORNING COMMUTER, I WOULD CERTAINLY KEEP AN EYE ON THAT THURSDAY MORNING COMMUTE. MODEL DATA RIGHT NOW, SUGGESTING THAT THE HEAVIEST RAIN IS GOING TO MOVE THROUGH NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AT THAT TIME. SO IN THE SIERRA, GREAT WEEKEND START TO THE WEEK, BUT TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO BE DROPPING FROM NEAR 70 DEGREES ON MONDAY, DOWN TO 50 ON THURSDAY THANKS TO RAIN AND TURNING TO SNOW. THAT SNOW LEVEL DROPPING TO 6500FT FRIDAY MORNING, AND THAT HIGH DROPPING TO 45 DEGREES IN THE FOOTHILLS. TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO GO FROM MID 70S THESE NEXT COUPLE DAYS BACK DOWN INTO THE UPPER 50S. RAINY AND BREEZY THURSDAY. AND HERE IN THE VALLEY, RAIN AND BREEZES ON THURSDAY TOO. GOING FROM NEAR 80 DEGREES TOMORROW AND MONDAY. BACK DOWN TO 64 DEGREES ON THURSDAY AND 62 WITH THOSE SCATTERED SHOWERS ON FRIDAY

    Northern California forecast: Warm and quiet Sunday

    Thanks to light northerly winds, Sunday will feel significantly warmer.

    Updated: 9:29 PM PST Nov 8, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Thanks to light northerly winds, Sunday will feel significantly warmer. Valley highs will climb to the upper 70s. Afternoon temperatures in the foothills will peak in the mid to upper 70s, with Sierra highs in the upper 60s. Clouds will increase, but they will be high, and there will still be some sunshine.The upcoming workweek starts similarly, and Veterans Day will be comfortable, but changes begin midweek as clouds increase and temperatures dip. Valley highs return to the low 70s on Wednesday, and breezes pick up that night. Rain may arrive as early as Thursday morning. Forecast models continue to adjust the track and timing of this system, but current data suggest Thursday morning will be stormy, with moderate to heavy rain fading to showers that linger into Friday. The region will also be breezy with stronger winds for our mountains.In the Sierra, rain will change to snow at the peaks, with snow levels dropping to around 6,500 feet by Friday morning.On-and-off showers linger through Friday, and Saturday looks mostly quiet and dry.

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    Thanks to light northerly winds, Sunday will feel significantly warmer.

    Valley highs will climb to the upper 70s. Afternoon temperatures in the foothills will peak in the mid to upper 70s, with Sierra highs in the upper 60s. Clouds will increase, but they will be high, and there will still be some sunshine.

    The upcoming workweek starts similarly, and Veterans Day will be comfortable, but changes begin midweek as clouds increase and temperatures dip.

    Valley highs return to the low 70s on Wednesday, and breezes pick up that night. Rain may arrive as early as Thursday morning. Forecast models continue to adjust the track and timing of this system, but current data suggest Thursday morning will be stormy, with moderate to heavy rain fading to showers that linger into Friday. The region will also be breezy with stronger winds for our mountains.

    In the Sierra, rain will change to snow at the peaks, with snow levels dropping to around 6,500 feet by Friday morning.

    On-and-off showers linger through Friday, and Saturday looks mostly quiet and dry.

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  • California steps in as Trump skips global climate summit in Brazil

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    Nearly 200 nations are gathering this week in Belém, Brazil, to kick off the annual United Nations climate policy summit, but there is one glaring exception: The Trump administration is not sending any high-ranking officials.

    California hopes it can fill in the gap. The state, as it usually does, is sending a large delegation to the Conference of the Parties, including first-time attendee Gov. Gavin Newsom and top officials from the California Natural Resources Agency, Department of Food and Agriculture, Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commission and Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs.

    The state aims to build on its reputation as a global climate leader, sharing its experience with clean energy technology and job creation and showcasing its track record of climate agreements with other countries and regions.

    Newsom, who is positioning himself for a 2028 presidential run, told The Times he “absolutely” sees California as a proxy for the U.S. at this year’s conference, which is the main global venue for countries to strengthen their commitments to reducing greenhouse gases.

    “California has a responsibility, but also a unique opportunity at this moment, to remind the world that we’re here, that we believe these issues matter, and that there’s an opportunity here to reinforce existing alliances and develop new ones,” the governor said.

    California’s strong presence at COP also marks an escalation of Newsom’s ongoing battle with President Trump. The two have clashed over immigration and climate, with the president’s energy and environment agenda often targeting the state. The Trump administration this year canceled funding for major clean energy projects such as California’s hydrogen hub and moved to revoke the state’s long-held authority to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than the federal government.

    But this year’s Nov. 10-21 gathering also comes at a critical moment for the world. It’s the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a seminal treaty signed at the 2015 COP in which world leaders established the goal of limiting global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above preindustrial levels, and preferably below 2.7 degrees F (1.5 degrees C), in order to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

    Most experts and scientists agree that the 2.7 degree target is no longer within reach. The last 10 years have been Earth’s hottest on record, driven largely by greenhouse gas emissions that come from the burning of fossil fuels.

    “One thing is already clear: We will not be able to contain the global warming below 1.5 degrees [C] in the next few years,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said at a recent gathering of the World Meteorological Organization. “The overshooting is now inevitable.”

    The U.N.’s annual Emissions Gap report released in conjunction with the conference finds that without immediate and aggressive action, the world is on track to warm between 4.14 and 5.04 degrees (2.3 and 2.8 degrees Celsius) over this century.

    Yet Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on his first day back in office, a move he also made during his first term as president. In a January executive order he stated that the Paris Agreement and other international climate compacts pose an unfair burden on the U.S. and steer American dollars to other countries.

    The U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is expected to add an additional 0.18 degree to the latest warming projections, in effect nullifying a small gain made since last year, the U.N. report says. It notes that every fraction of a degree of warming means more losses for people and ecosystems, higher costs to adapt, and more reliance on uncertain techniques to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

    However, the report underscores that the technology to deliver big emissions cuts already exists, pointing to booming developments in wind and solar energy, much of which is occurring overseas.

    It’s a sector where California can lead, Newsom said, adding that the Trump administration has “doubled down on stupid” by ceding so much ground to China. The Golden State has invested heavily in renewables, battery energy storage and the electrification of buildings and vehicles. California has also set ambitious decarbonizaiton targets and reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 21% since 2000 while its economy has grown 81%.

    “We want to continue to tip the scales, and this is about economic growth, this is about jobs, and this is about addressing the other crisis of our time: affordability,” Newsom said. “When you talk about energy efficiency, you’re talking about affordability. When you talk about wind and solar, you’re talking about abundance and you’re talking about affordability.”

    California has already helped to spread a lot of real technology. The state’s aggressive emission rules were pivotal in pushing automakers toward electric vehicles, with Toyota largely developing its Prius for California’s market. The state was the first to mandate battery energy storage at its major utilities, helping jump-start the modern grid-battery market, while its cap-and-trade carbon market program has been emulated in places around the world.

    State leaders hope to highlight more than their progress at home. In recent years, California has also forged subnational agreements and partnerships with other regions and countries on issues such as delivering clean transportation, cutting pollution and developing hydrogen and renewables. Newsom is expected to sign additional agreements at COP this year, although his team declined to provide a preview of what they will entail.

    Among the state’s dozens of existing agreements are a memorandum with Mexico’s Baja California Energy Commission focused on clean ports, zero-emission transportation and grid reliability; and memorandums with several provinces in China on pollution reduction and offshore wind power. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also has partnerships with several countries that are sharing resources and best practices for managing vegetation and combating wildfires.

    Focusing on these actions at the state and regional level has become a key part of COP conferences as the conversation gains urgency and shifts to deployment, according to Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director at the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists.

    “There is a whole other face of the United States — we have a lot of subnational actors, including leading states and cities and forward-looking businesses, who will be at COP showing the rest of the world that the United States does understand that it’s both in the interest of our country, as well as the global interest, to tackle climate change,” Cleetus said.

    California’s delegation in Brazil also includes Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, who represented the state at the Local Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro this week.

    “This year, our federal government is totally missing in action … and the rest of the world needs to understand that America is still in this fight, and we’re moving forward,” Crowfoot said in a briefing.

    Crowfoot highlighted California’s carbon market partnership with Quebec and one with Denmark that yielded groundwater monitoring technology that California uses today, among other examples of international efforts.

    This year’s COP conference, which is taking place near the Amazon River delta in northern Brazil, is heavily focused on forest restoration and nature-based solutions, which California also focuses on through its 30×30 program to conserve 30% of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030, Crowfoot said. The Golden State already has deep ties to the region stemming from its landmark 2019 Tropical Forest Standard program, which set guidelines on carbon credits awarded for reducing deforestation.

    Newsom said that at COP, he will highlight climate action as the defining economic opportunity of the 21st century. He is slated to speak at the Milken Institute’s Global Investors’ Symposium, a gathering of leading investors and business executives, about how California shows that clean energy investments create jobs and profit. Green jobs now outnumber fossil fuel jobs in the state, 7 to 1.

    “Were not just talking about this from the perspective of trying to be good citizens,” Newsom said. “We’re also trying to be competitive geopolitical players. We want to dominate in the next big global industry.”

    Still, there is much work to be done.

    Every five years, parties to the Paris Agreement are required to submit targets for their greenhouse gas emissions. The targets so far have “barely moved the needle,” according to the U.N. report, and the ones handed in this year aren’t nearly aggressive enough.

    “It’s devastating to see that now we are definitely going to breach the 1.5 C benchmark,” said Cleetus, of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

    “But world leaders still have the power to sharply cut these emissions,” she said.

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    Hayley Smith, Melody Gutierrez

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  • News Analysis: Trump channels past Latin American aggressions in new crusade: ‘We’re just gonna kill people’

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    MEXICO CITY — They’re blowing up boats in the high seas, threatening tariffs from Brazil to Mexico and punishing anyone deemed hostile — while lavishing aid and praise on allies all aboard with the White House program.

    Welcome to the Monroe Doctrine 2.0, the Trump administration’s bellicose, you’re-with-us-or-against-us approach to Latin America.

    Not yet a year into his term, President Trump seems intent on putting his footprint in “America’s backyard” more than any recent predecessor. He came to office threatening to take back the Panama Canal, and now seems poised to launch a military attack on Venezuela and perhaps even drone strikes on cartel targets in Mexico. He vowed to withhold aid from Argentina if this week’s legislative elections didn’t go the way he wanted. They did.

    The Navy’s USS Stockdale docks at the Frigate Captain Noel Antonio Rodriguez Justavino Naval Base, near entrance to the Panama Canal in Panama City, Panama, on Sept. 21.

    (Enea Lebrun/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

    “Every president comes in promising a new focus on Latin America, but the Trump administration is actually doing it,” said James Bosworth, whose firm provides regional risk analysis. “There is no country in the region that is not questioning how the U.S. is playing Latin America right now.”

    Fearing a return to an era when U.S. intervention was the norm — from outright invasions to covert CIA operations to economic meddling — many Latin American leaders are trying to craft please-Trump strategies, with mixed success. But Trump’s transactional proclivities, mercurial outbursts and bullying nature make him a volatile negotiating partner.

    “It’s all put Latin America on edge,” said Michael Shifter, past president of Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based research group. “It’s bewildering and dizzying and, I think, disorienting for everyone. People don’t know what’s coming next.”

    In this super-charged update of U.S. gunboat diplomacy, critics say laws are being ignored, norms sidestepped and protocol set aside. The combative approach draws from some old standards: War on Drugs tactics, War on Terrorism rationales and Cold War saber-rattling.

    Facilitating it all is the Trump administration’s formal designation of cartels as terrorist groups, a first. The shift has provided oratorical firepower, along with a questionable legal rationale, for the deadly “narco-terrorist” boat strikes, now numbering 14, in both the Caribbean and Pacific.

    “The Al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere,” is how Pete Hegseth, Trump’s defense secretary, has labeled cartels, as he posts video game-esque footage of boats and their crews being blown to bits.

    Lost is an essential distinction: Cartels, while homicidal, are driven by profits. Al Qaeda and other terror groups typically proclaim ideological motives.

    Another aberration: Trump doesn’t see the need to seek congressional approval for military action in Venezuela.

    “I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war,” Trump said. “I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead.”

    A supporter of Venezuela wearing a t-shirt depicting US President Donald Trump and the slogan "Yankee go home"

    A supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro wearing a T-shirt depicting President Trump and the slogan “Yankee go home” takes part in a rally on Thursday in Caracas against U.S. military activity in the Caribbean.

    (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)

    Trump’s unpredictability has cowed many in the region. One of the few leaders pushing back is Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who, like Trump, has a habit of incendiary, off-the-cuff comments and social media posts.

    The former leftist guerrilla — who already accused Trump of abetting genocide in Gaza — said Washington’s boat-bombing spree killed at least one Colombian fisherman. Petro called the operation part of a scheme to topple the leftist government in neighboring Venezuela.

    Trump quickly sought to make an example of Petro, labeling him “an illegal drug leader” and threatening to slash aid to Colombia, while his administration imposed sanctions on Petro, his wife, son and a top deputy. Like the recent deployment of thousands of U.S. troops, battleships and fighter jets in the Caribbean, Trump’s response was a calculated display of power — a show of force designed to brow-beat doubters into submission.

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaks at a rally

    At a rally in support of Colombian President Gustavo Petro in Bogota on Oct. 24, a demonstrator carries a sign that demands respect for Colombia and declares that, contrary to Trump’s claims, Petro is not a drug trafficker.

    (Juancho Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    Amid the whirlwind turns in U.S.-Latin American relations, the rapid unraveling of U.S.-Colombia relations has been especially startling. For decades Colombia has been the linchpin of Washington’s anti-drug efforts in South America as well as a major trade partner.

    Unlike Colombia and Mexico, Venezuela is a relatively minor player in the U.S.-bound narcotics trade, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. And yet the White House has cast Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicolás Maduro, as an all-powerful kingpin “poisoning” American streets with crime and drugs. It put a $50-million bounty on Maduro’s head and massed an armada off the coast of Venezuela, home to the world’s largest petroleum reserves.

    U.S. President Donald Trump talks during a cabinet meeting

    President Trump talks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Oct. 9. Others, from left to right are, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

    (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

    An exuberant cheerleader for the shoot-first-and-ask-no-questions-later posture is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has for years advocated for the ouster of left-wing governments in Havana and Caracas. In a recent swing through the region, Rubio argued for a more muscular interdiction strategy.

    “What will stop them is when you blow them up,” Rubio told reporters in Mexico City. “You get rid of them.”

    That mindset is “chillingly familiar for many people in Latin America,” said David Adler, of the think tank Progressive International. “Again, you’re doing extrajudicial killings in the name of a war on drugs.”

    U.S. intervention in Latin America dates back more than 200 years, when President James Monroe declared that the United States would reign as the hemispheric hegemon.

    In ensuing centuries, the U.S. invaded Mexico and annexed half its territory, dispatched Marines to Nicaragua and Haiti and abetted coups from Chile to Brazil to Guatemala. It enforced a decades-long embargo against communist Cuba — while also launching a botched invasion of the island and trying to assassinate its leader —and imposed economic sanctions on left-wing adversaries in Nicaragua and Venezuela.

    Motivations for these interventions varied from fighting communism to protecting U.S. business interests to waging a war on drugs. The most recent full-on U.S. assault against a Latin American nation — the 1989 invasion of Panama — also was framed as an anti-drug crusade. President George H.W. Bush described the country’s authoritarian leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega, as a “drug-running dictator,” language that is nearly identical to current White House descriptions of Maduro.

    American Army troops arrive in Panama to depose former ally Manuel Noriega in 1989.

    American Army troops arrive in Panama to depose former ally Manuel Noriega in 1989.

    (Jason Bleibtreu/Sygma via Getty Images)

    But a U.S. military invasion of Venezuela presents a challenge of a different magnitude.

    Venezuela is 10 times larger than Panama, and its population of 28 million is also more than tenfold that of Panama’s in 1989. Many predict that a potential U.S. attack would face stiff resistance.

    And if curtailing drug use is really the aim of Trump’s policy, leaders from Venezuela to Colombia to Mexico say, perhaps Trump should focus on curtailing addiction in the U.S., which is the world’s largest consumer of drugs.

    To many, the buildup to a potential intervention in Venezuela mirrors the era preceding the 2003 Iraq war, when the White House touted not drug trafficking but weapons of mass destruction — which turned out to be nonexistent — as a casus belli.

    Arrival Of The Us Troops In Safwan, First Iraqi Village After The Koweiti Border. On March 21, 2003

    Iraqi officers surrender to U.S. troops on a road near Safwan, Iraq, in March, 2003.

    (Gilles Bassignac/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

    “Somehow, the United States of America has found a way to combine two of its greatest foreign policy failures — the Iraq War and the War on Drugs — into a single regime change narrative,” Adler said.

    Further confounding U.S.-Latin American relations is Trump’s personality-driven style: his unabashed affection for certain leaders and disdain for others.

    While Venezuela’s Maduro and Colombia’s Petro sit atop the bad-hombre list, Argentine President Javier Milei and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele — the latter the self-described “world’s coolest dictator” — are the darlings of the moment.

    US President Donald Trump greets Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president

    President Trump greets Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele as he arrives at the White House on April 14.

    (Al Drago/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

    Trump has given billions of dollars in aid to bail out the right-wing Milei, a die-hard Trump loyalist and free-market ideologue. The administration has paid Bukele’s administration millions to house deportees, while maintaining the protected status of more than 170,000 Salvadoran immigrants in the U.S.

    “It’s a carrot-and-stick approach,” said Sergio Berensztein, an Argentina political analyst. “It’s fortunate for Argentina that it gets the carrot. But Venezuela and Colombia get the stick.”

    Trump has given mixed signals on Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The two leftists lead the region’s largest nations.

    Trump has wielded the tariff cudgel against both countries: Mexico ostensibly because of drug trafficking; Brazil because of what Trump calls a “witch hunt” against former president Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing Trump favorite convicted of attempting a coup after he, like Trump, lost a bid for reelection.

    Paradoxically, Trump has expressed affection for both Lula and Sheinbaum, calling Lula on his 80th birthday “a very vigorous guy” (Trump is 79) and hailing Sheinbaum as a “lovely woman,” but adding: “She’s so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight.”

    Sheinbaum, caught in the crosswinds of shifting policy dictates from Washington, has so far been able to fight off Trump’s most drastic tariff threats. Mexico’s reliance on the U.S. market highlights a fundamental truth: Even with China expanding its influence, the U.S. still reigns as the region’s economic and military superpower.

    Sheinbaum has avoided the kind of barbed ripostes that tend to trigger Trump’s rage, even as U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats creep closer to Mexico’s shores. Publicly at least, she seldom shows frustration or exasperation, once musing: “President Trump has his own, very special way of communicating.”

    Special correspondents Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrés D’Alessandro in Buenos Aires contributed to this report.

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    Patrick J. McDonnell, Kate Linthicum

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  • NorCal forecast: A subtly cooler Thursday under increasing clouds

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    Northern California forecast: A subtly cooler Thursday under increasing clouds

    A passing weather system will bring back a few clouds and onshore flow to the region, allowing high temperatures to drop by a couple of degrees.

    GOING TO BE A DOORBELL RINGING ALL NIGHT LONG. YES, DEFINITELY. AND THE FORECAST IS GOING TO BE SHAPING UP NICELY. SO I THINK YOU’LL PROBABLY HAVE A LOT OF KIDS VISITING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. TEMPERATURES LOW 50S RIGHT NOW IN THE VALLEY. HERE’S A LIVE LOOK IN RANCHO CORDOVA WHERE THE SKIES LOOKING JUST A LITTLE BIT HAZY. IT’S 28 RIGHT NOW, WAKING UP IN SOUTH LAKE TAHOE TODAY, MARKING THE 30TH DAY OF OCTOBER. AND WE’RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT TEMPERATURES ABOVE NORMAL. KEEP IN MIND, WHEN WE RIDE OUT THESE FINAL DAYS OF OCTOBER, NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR HIGHS LOWER 70S TODAY, EXPECTING ANOTHER ROUND OF UPPER 70S. I JUST DON’T THINK MANY AREAS WILL REACH THE 80 DEGREE MARK LIKE WE DID YESTERDAY. AND FOR PERSPECTIVE, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, BACK IN 2015, TEN YEARS AGO TO BE EXACT, WE BROKE A RECORD ON THIS DAY AT 85 DEGREES. LET’S LOOK CLOSER AT THAT HALLOWEEN FORECAST AS THE BATS GET READY TO FLY BY IN THE VALLEY. TEMPERATURES AROUND 6:00 TOMORROW. LOW 70S, MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES. A FEW CLOUDS WILL TRICKLE IN BY 8:00, BUT STILL COMFORTABLE MID 60S FOR FOOTHILLS. HALLOWEEN FORECAST STARTS OUT 6:00 UPPER 60S. WE DROP BACK TO LOW 60S BY 8:00 AND IN THE SIERRA. THIS IS PROBABLY THE ONE SPOT YOU WANT TO HAVE THAT LAYER READY TO GO FOR, ESPECIALLY THE LITTLE ONES. 6:00 YOU’RE AT 60 DEGREES, DROPPING BACK TO LOW 50S AROUND 8:00. SO THE WEATHER FORECAST, THE PATTERN AS WE LOOK AT IT RIGHT NOW, A LITTLE SYSTEM WILL GO BY THE AREA TODAY BRINGING US SOME CLOUDS. IT’S ALSO GOING TO HELP TO ENHANCE A BIT OF THE DELTA BREEZE. SO IN TERMS OF TEMPERATURES, EVEN AS THAT SYSTEM HELPS US, WE’RE LOOKING ABOVE NORMAL. EVEN WITH A FEW MORE CLOUDS. WE’LL SEE THOSE SKIES TODAY DRY HALLOWEEN. SO AGAIN, DON’T BE SPOOKED BY THOSE LATE IN THE EVENING. CLOUDS. RAIN CHANCES ARE SET TO INCREASE MIDDLE TO LATE NEXT WEEK. NOW LET’S GO THROUGH SOME OF THIS WITH FUTURECAST. THERE’S WHERE SOME OF THE CLOUDS ARE GOING TO COME INTO PLAY, ESPECIALLY ON HALLOWEEN EVENING. BUT AGAIN DRY FORECAST. WE’RE DRY STRAIGHT THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS THAT RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE PRETTY MUCH INFLUENCES US AND KEEPS US HIGH AND DRY. WE’LL HEAD INTO SUNDAY A FEW MORE CLOUDS BY LATE IN THE DAY, ON SUNDAY AND INTO MONDAY, AND THEN LOOKING AHEAD TO TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. CLOUDS WILL CERTAINLY START TO BUILD. IT’S BY WEDNESDAY AND WATCHING THIS WEATHER SYSTEM THAT IS EXPECTED TO DELIVER LIKELY WEDNESDAY EVENING INTO THURSDAY. POTENTIAL FOR RAIN. BE NICE TO GET THAT, WOULDN’T IT? SEVEN DAY FORECAST. YOU’RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF ICONS ON HERE. TEMPERATURES NOT MODERATING ALL THAT MUCH STRAIGHT THROUGH THE WEEKEND. FIRST WEEKEND OF NOVEMBER. QUITE MILD ABOVE NORMAL. DON’T FORGET THOUGH, SATURDAY NIGHT TO SET THOSE CLOCKS BACK AN HOUR. DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ENDS AND THEN INTO NEXT WEEK. TEMPERATURES START TO SLINK DOWNWARD MIDDLE OF THE WEEK, AND BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT COULD BE LOOKING AT THOSE RAIN CHANCES GOING UP. SO BY TOMORROW, YOU MAY SEE THAT THERE’S A RAIN ICON ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. FOR NOW, THOUGH, KEEPING IT DRY DURING THE DAY. ALL RIGHT. GOING ON.

    Northern California forecast: A subtly cooler Thursday under increasing clouds

    A passing weather system will bring back a few clouds and onshore flow to the region, allowing high temperatures to drop by a couple of degrees.

    Updated: 6:04 AM PDT Oct 30, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    A passing weather system will bring back a few clouds and onshore flow to the region, allowing high temperatures to drop by a couple of degrees.Valley highs will be in the upper 80s, foothill temperatures will peak in the mid-70s, and highs in the Sierra will be in the upper 60s.The weather will be similar for Halloween and the weekend—valley highs in the upper 70s to low 80s under a few clouds, with light onshore winds. Expect evening temperatures in the 60s on Halloween.Our stretch of quiet weather lasts into the start of next week, but the next chance of rain arrives midweek as a trough swings into the region.

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    A passing weather system will bring back a few clouds and onshore flow to the region, allowing high temperatures to drop by a couple of degrees.

    Valley highs will be in the upper 80s, foothill temperatures will peak in the mid-70s, and highs in the Sierra will be in the upper 60s.

    The weather will be similar for Halloween and the weekend—valley highs in the upper 70s to low 80s under a few clouds, with light onshore winds. Expect evening temperatures in the 60s on Halloween.

    Our stretch of quiet weather lasts into the start of next week, but the next chance of rain arrives midweek as a trough swings into the region.

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